How to Make Bird Houses for Cardinals

Cardinals are small red birds related to finches and are commonly found in the eastern United States. Cardinals prefer an open-air plan to their housing, rather than being tucked inside a traditional closed-box-shaped bird house with a little hole in the front. You can encourage cardinals to nest in your yard by providing them with the materials they prefer for their nests and by providing an open-plan nest box or platform.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dense trees or shrubs (evergreens are best)
• Bird feeder (hanging or platform) with sunflower and other seeds
• Pine or cedar boards, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick and 8 inches wide by 46 inches long
• Small nails
• Wood glue

Attract Cardinals to Yard

1. Plant dense shrubs and trees such as evergreens native to your area.

2. Grow shrubs that produce food for cardinals such as Concorde grapes, hackberries, blackberries and elderberries.

3. Fill feeders with sunflower seeds, safflower seeds and foods like cracked corn that cardinals prefer.

Build an Open-Nest Box

4. Cut boards into six pieces with the following dimensions: One at 8 inches by 10 inches; four at 8 inches by 8 1/2 inches and one at 8 inches by 2 inches.

5. Cut from two of the 8 1/2 inch by 8 inch pieces a circular hole in one corner beginning at 2 inches from the edge along one 8-inch side and ending along the adjacent 8 1/2-inch side, so that a corner is missing. This will allow the birds to have peripheral visibility from their nest while still offering wind protection.

6. Cut the remainder of the formerly 8 1/2-inch side at an angle (10 to 30 degrees) so that the roof of the nest box will slope down toward the cut-out hole, which will be in the front.

7. Nail and glue the pieces together so that the 8 inch by 10-inch board is the back, the cut-out 8 inch by 8 1/2-inch pieces are on the sides, the 2 inch by 8-inch piece is along the front, and the two solid 8 inch by 8 1/2 inch-pieces are the top and bottom (the top should now slope downward from back to front). The bottom of the house should be flush with the bottom of the back piece.

8. Hang the birdhouse with a nail through the portion of the back that sticks up above the roof.

Tips & Warnings

• Cardinals prefer to nest in dense shrubbery, about 2 to 3 feet off the ground, and away from predators such as pets, so place your nest box accordingly.

References

• Birdfeeders USA information on Northern Cardinal
• Birdhouses 101: Building birdhouses for the cardinal
• Duncraft robin nesting shelter, suitable for cardinals

Resources

• YouTube video of Northern Cardinal building her nest