Everyone wants to have a hobby or side project but there are those like me who want to be a bit of a handyman and those who are the all-round handyman.

Chris Peterson has catered for both sides of the coin with his Build-It-Yourself Birdhouses. It is probably not a life’s goal to do something like this but we have to start somewhere with a hobby and Peterson’s book is a fantastic introduction.

It provides a host of photographs, diagrams, lists of required tools and measurements for a variety of birdhouses from the simple and basic to the more difficult and fancier.

Some of the tools required might not be in your shed or garage but for those enthusiastic enough it is brilliant. Who doesn’t want to build a Batman birdhouse for the kids (or themselves)?

Hanging Man Suet Feeder, Squirrel Proof Feeder, and Zen Feeder.

Looking to bring more birds to your yard in 2020 by building different birdhouses? Well, look no farther this book will give you step by step instructions for your entire backyard friends, but from one birder to another, please take another step by providing not only houses but also the right plants and trees to feed and keep your birds safe too.

Don’t have the equipment to build your own birdhouses? Well, don’t fear, I don’t either but I have a friend that does so he is happy to grab some extra money to build me some from this book. So, even though you don’t have the equipment some you know might or you can find someone in your neighborhood or town that would be happy to build them for you’re for a fee.

Not only do you get full easy to understand instructions you also get tips too.

As Mr. Peterson says, "A birdhouse is not an overly difficult structure to craft." And then he proceeds to give clear and comprehensive instructions on how to build them and then place them for best effect. He provides some bird feeder ideas too.

I think we all realize that different kinds of birds build different kinds of nests and care for their young in different ways. Birdhouses are designed to provide birds with optimum conditions for reproduction and the survival of the chicks. Mr. Peterson's designs include ideas for reducing access of ground predators like squirrels, racoons, and snakes to the nest, and also shielding the birdhouse from attacks by airborne predators like hawks and other birds.

The instructions are clearly written and do not require that you be an expert carpenter.

If you have been looking for an easy way to invite birds into your yard, Build-It-Yourself Birdhouses by Chris Peterson is the book you will want to start with. This book is an easy to understand guide for building over 25 birdhouses and feeders, even if you are a beginner or want-to-be builder. In addition to actual plans for how to make these creations, this book also spends time talking about the benefits of adding birdhouses to your yard as well as how to landscape for birds.

The visual power of birdhouses and feeders

Adding a birdhouse or feeder that you have created can decorate your yard in so many ways. You can add a splash of color for attraction. You choose the design touches that you want to add - and they can be for the benefit of the birds or for visual appeal of your yard. And of course you are inviting birds to live in your yard (adding more color and the joy of watching the power of flight), and helping the environment by providing safe nesting sites.

As you enhance your yard by inviting birds to live in your neighborhood, this book also helps you to consider landscaping for birds. Bushes and shrubs provide protection for birds. Trees become their homes. Even flowers, blooming vines and ornamental grasses provide food and shelter options. The importance of a clean water source is also highlighted in this book.

Birdhouse Construction Basics

Even if you have never built a project on your own, have no fear because this book takes you though all the materials and steps that you will need to finish your project. You will learn about; tools, wood choices, building in ventilation, the importance of drainage, entry holes for various sized birds, and much more.

Once you understand how easy the basics are, you can start dreaming and planning for your first house. Here are some of the options that this book guides you though;

Classic Bluebird house
Bat cave (yes, there are even more than bird house options!)
Chickadee slat house
Nuthatch Wedge
Wren Cottage
Flycatcher cinder block Motel
Tufted Titmouse log cabin
A Robins flower pot
Porch Swing bin feeder
Scarecrow suet feeder

So think about the birds that you would like to see more of in your yard and pick up your copy of Build-It-Yourself Birdhouses to make it a reality. Happy Birding and enriching your home.

We enjoyed reading and learning from Build-It-Yourself Birdhouses: 25+ DIY Birdhouses and Bird Feeders by Chris Peterson, a home improvement pro. Feeding the birds and watching them fly around is an enjoyable pastime in our house. So looking through this book gave us many ideas for the birdhouses we want to build. It is helpful because you’ll find birdhouse ideas for a wide variety of birds from Chickadee shelters to Barred Owl Nest boxes to squirrel proof feeders and telephone platform feeders. The birdhouses as well as feeders are very creative and what you’d expect with classic designs, but modern ideas too. These designs are set-up for beginning woodworkers so I think perfect for creating with your family. I know we want to try making several. The photos and step-by-step instructions with each design help make the process so easy. They have thought of everything from tips to mounting instructions to including materials and templates. We LOVE this book and all the ideas inside making it easy for us to finally build the birdhouses and birdfeeders we want.

Informative book about both birds and birdhouse styles. It is not an introductory text and the step by step instructions, but more so the pictures of construction presume knowledge on behalf of the reader. It is a good text for drawing design inspiration, and for advanced woodworkers and hobbyists.

This book was so much more then I expected. It has all kinds of designs including bird feeders. It even has a section on bat houses which is both awesome and terrible (in the sense bats totally creep me out). However the at houses are really neat and I loved the owl house designs. I’m telling you if your looking for a book on building bird houses this is it. It has fantastic pictures and well thought out designs. I highly recommend this book. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

Whilst this book is written in Northern America, for mostly American birds, I find that there is enough birdhouses in this book to be able to accommodate many species of birds from other countries. Although there are many common bird species in this list.
Research may need to be done for native birds of other countries as to their needs and wants, but most birdhouse won't need much modification to the design.
The instructions are easy to follow and can be attempted by learner woodworkers, as well as the more experienced. There are some cute designs, as are more fundamental purpose-built birdhouses.

Build-It-Yourself Birdhouses is a tutorial woodworking DIY guide by Chris Peterson. Due out 10th Dec 2019 from Quarto on their Cool Springs Press imprint, it's 160 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

These are creative, attractive, and functional houses and feeders. The projects range from the purely practical, to the whimsical, to the architectural and artistic. There are projects for all levels of DIYer and several of them would make great weekend family projects to do with kids.

The projects are arranged thematically, an archetypal birdhouse tutorial covers all the basics. The following chapters provide refinements on the basic look with different sizes, materials, and finishes. There are shelters for small to large birds as well as feeder projects. Definitely enough to keep a weekend DIYer busy all winter. The book includes all templates as well as materials and supplies lists for each project. Materials and templates are given in US standard measurements. The book closes with a links and resources list and a cross-referenced index.

These are attractive and classic and there is wide scope for varying the details to make the projects fit into a home or garden's aesthetic and house (and feed) the local birds at the same time.

Four stars.

Guess what I’ll be doing this winter? Yes! Making lots of bird houses ready for spring. All the instructions you need to make penthouses for your garden birds and insects. Bright, colorful, and fun. They look to be well within my simple woodwork skills so, I might even manage to make one, possibly two, as Christmas gifts!
An good for the environment too.

I have been looking for a book like this for a long time!! This is wonderful. Not only does it have pictures of some very nice looking birdhouses, it also has directions that look fairly easy. Chris Peterson has done a wonderful job in creating this book. He describes the birds and their needs and where to place the house when you are finished. I oohed and ahhed over this book the whole time I was reading it. It has the birds that come to my backyard, almost as if he stood out there and watched them and then made this book just for me.

This book was very informative, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the colorful photos and plans included in it.
Although not the type of book that would be a good book club choice, I wondered if, due to all the wonderful style and difficulty level choices, it would be a perfect choice for a hands on wood shop class, both beginner and advanced. There was a LOT of information packed into it, and as a person trying to attract birds to my home, I ESPECIALLY appreciated finding all the specific sizes of bird house entrances located together on one page! In past, I have spent enormous amounts of time trying to gather that information for different species individually, one bird house at a time. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

This book is seriously fun. Not only does it cover the basics, the instructions are easy to read/understand, there's plenty of variety for both smaller and larger birds (even owls) and it has some birdfeeders too.

I think this book is very much suitable for the DIY'er who loves birds.

This book is great! My girl scout troop is going to be building birdhouses for an upcoming project and this will give us wonderful ideas and easy to follow directions. I can't wait to build a couple of these!