If you would like to give the birds and bats in your woodland a helping hand, the following organisations provide useful advice and plans for making nest boxes suited to different species. If you’re lucky enough to have pine marten, there are den box plans available too. Please let us know if you have other good resources.
Essentials that are covered include what type of wood to use, how to join the panels together, the style and size of the opening, how to add a hinged access door, as well as where to place the box and cleaning procedures in winter.
The British Trust for Ornithology has freely-available plans for house sparrow, blue tit and robin boxes, as well as tawny owl, barn owl and little owl boxes. The BTO book Nestboxes: Your Complete Guide by Dave Cromack provides comprehensive instructions for building, erecting and monitoring boxes for a broad range of species.
Have a look at the Wildlife Trusts website for some easy-to-follow instructions for making a nest box for small birds.
Watch the WoodlandsTV short films on Encouraging birdlife into your woodland and How to make a bird box for more ideas and practical guidance.
The Barn Owl Trust has lots of information on indoor and outdoor options for barn owls, and boxes for tawny and little owls too.
Wildlife artist Robert E Fuller shares his extensive experience of using tawny owl boxes, and also describes how to make bird boxes out of old tree stumps and hollow branches.
The Bat Conservation Trust has information on making and using bat boxes, including a downloadable Bat Box Information Pack.
Two different designs for bat boxes are provided by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the Wildlife Trusts.
With plenty of ideas for family activities, the recently published book Bird, Bee & Bug Houses by Esther Coombs & Susie Behar has projects for making lots of different wildlife habitats, including owl and bat houses.
You can download plans from the Vincent Wildlife Trust for a slot bat box and also a den box for pine marten including siting advice, with an updated design available here.
Good luck, and please let us know how you and the wildlife get on!
