Sparrow terrace built at last

For about 4 years now iv been talking of making a house sparrow terrace (yeh a know, talk about pull ya finger out hahaha).
Well at last its built, sorted me shed out so I could find all me tools, built some benches, begged and borrowed a few plywood offcuts and bingo :D
The plywood wasn't the best quality so have adapted n improvised with it so it will last.
The box has a series of 6mm holes drilled front and back in the base, it shouldn't get any water inside but better safe than sorry.


Also had a little helper with the sanding

I used boiled linseed oil on the plywood for the roof then felted and used staples on the inside.

On the next couple of picks you can see the bottom support piece of wood, I was gonna originally just run the 2 uprights for attaching to the wall, past by 4" top n bottom, but decided to make them flush at the bottom and then do a separate piece of wood that I could actually fix to the wall first.
This will allow me to rest the box on the wood whilst I drill for the 2 top fixings.
The nest box will then screw also to the bottom wood with the help of 2 mirror bracket thingy bobs.
All this just makes it a bit easier to install when up a tall ladder :D


To hold the roof down, at first I tried a latch either side but I didn't think they held the lid down tight enough, so I decided to make 2 internal blocks with the top angles to the pitch of the roof so I could screw the lid down with a couple of stainless steel screws, the screws are also enclosed in those flip over cap thingies you can get for corrugated plastic roofing sheets (had a couple spare from me aviary days) :D



After a good painting with PVA to seal the wood inside and out for some extra protection, I gave the inside a single coat of satin gloss and the outside 2 coats.
I already had the paint from a previous job around the front of the house, color chosen as its a good match for the bricks below the window sills :D





At last the nest box is up on the house ready for next year and am I glad I made it with the wood that screws to the wall first to act as a prop, made life tones easier :D

 

Thanks again John.
Between now and Feb is the best time to put new boxes up :thumb:

 

S'funny how in some areas of the country sparrows are rare. I fill two large bird feeders with mixed seed and within a couple of days, it's all gone. And who eats it? Why, sparrows of course. They're not rare around here in SW Kent!:dh:

Chris

 

thats a lovely box, hope you get some customers next spring
We also get an abundance of sparrows on our feeders...until the greedy starlings arrive!

 

Thanks everybody :luv:
The biggest reason for the falling numbers in certain areas is down to the loss of breeding sites.
Anywhere that has lots of older buildings such as terraced houses, council estates and large estates in general, you will always find house sparrows and starlings.
The biggest problem is with new builds, they build them so nothing can get in the fascia boards or eaves, this is were the sparrows and starlings like to nest.

Also many older houses have had their fascias replaced with PVCU boards so all access points are blocked.
Im quite lucky in that although my house is only 9 years old, the sparrows have found a way in on all of the gable ends and we get 4 breeding pairs every year, but we never see any starlings.

Maybe I should build some starling boxes?

 

Another great job Karl, we have an extended family of about 10 Sparrows and there is a healthy population here.
Large new builds are also the reason for the Swifts' decline too.:(