When there is DIY to do, we contact Emmanuel Grosbois from the A Fleur d’eau garden in Cherveux (79). For the listeners of France Bleu Poitou, he forsakes his own creations for a moment (much more elaborate…) to guide us.
A birdhouse? But yes to welcome:
the robin, the chickadee, the rattletail, the winter wren… All these cute little birds, you have to protect them, help them!
Wood, a saw, nails or screws, linseed oil, let’s go. You need untreated wood,
formwork wood, which costs three francs six sous, is ideal.
To start you need 3 boards of identical format, 20 cm by 20 cm is good:
- one for the floor,
- then one on each side,
- and finally 2 other longer ones cut in bevel for the roof, that will avoid that the water enters inside.
Absolutely avoid: paint, which adds nothing to the nesting box except odors which will not make the little birds want to come and settle there. On the other hand, linseed oil or any cooking oil will saturate the wood and will therefore make it (almost) rot-proof.
Make a small, very small opening of about 3.5 cm, so the birds will be reassured: predators will not be able to enter.
And don’t forget to install your nest box in a place inaccessible to cats, so we avoid low walls and we prefer the end of a high branch, or high up in the middle of a facade, far from windows.
Know that if birds adopt your nest box, there is a good chance that it will be inhabited again next year!