If you aren’t able to attend all of the sessions in the Songbird Station Spring Seminar Series this year-no worries! You can find the videos here!
Nest Box Seminar -March 14th
Attracting Hummingbirds, Orioles, & More! April 11th
Spring 2026 Seminars
Category: Nesting
REQUIREMENTS FOR YOUR FAVORITE CAVITY-NESTING BIRDS
© NestWatch / The Cornell Lab of Ornithology / https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/dealing-with-predators/
| Species | Nesting Habitat | Box Height | Hole Size | Minimum Spacing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Kestrel | Pastures, fields, meadows, or orchards with mowed or grazed vegetation; place boxes on lone trees in fields, on trees along edges of woodlots, and on farm buildings. Facing south or east | 10-30 feet | 3″ diameter | 1/2 mile |
| Ash-throated Flycatcher | Chaparral, mesquite thickets, oak scrub, dry plains spotted with trees or cacti, deserts, and open deciduous and riparian woodlands | 3-20 feet | 1 3/4″ round | 200 feet |
| Barn Owl | Prefers open areas like fields, deserts and marshes which are in close proximity to hollow trees, cliffs, riverbanks, or man-made structures, including barns, bridges and other accessible sites, and which support healthy rodent populations | 8-25 feet | 3 3/4″ x 4 1/2″ elliptical | 100 feet |
| Black-capped Chickadee | Forests, woodlots, and yards with mature hardwood trees, forest edges, meadows; area should receive 40-60% sunlight, hole should face away from prevailing wind; 1″ wood shavings can be placed in box | 5-15 feet | 1 1/8″ round | 650 feet |
| Brown-headed Nuthatch | Open stands of pine-hardwood forests, clearings scattered with dead trees, forest edges, burned areas, cypress swamps | 5-10 feet | 1″ round | 1 box per 6 acres |
| Carolina Chickadee | Forests, woodlots, and yards with mature hardwood trees, forest edges, meadows; area should receive 40-60% sunlight, hole should face away from prevailing wind. Unlike other chickadees, Carolina Chickadee does not do much excavating, so wood chips are not necessary. | 4-15 feet | 1 1/8″ round | 30 feet |
| Carolina Wren | Forests with thick underbrush, forest edges, woodland clearings, open forests, shrub lands, suburban gardens, parks, backyards; near trees or tall shrubs | 3-6 feet | 1 1/2″ round, or 2 1/2″ x 5″ slot | 330 feet |
| Chestnut-backed Chickadee | Coniferous forests, mixed deciduous-coniferous forests, forest edges, woodlands, thickets, burned areas, often near streams; hole should face away from prevailing wind; 1″ wood shavings can be placed in box | 5-15 feet | 1 1/8″ round | 160 feet |
| Common Goldeneye | Breeding habitat is limited to aquatic areas with dead trees, in boreal, deciduous, aspen and montane woods; favor calm, large, clear lakes without much vegetation or fish. Please several inches of wood shavings in the box in early spring. | 6-30 feet | 3 1/4″ high x 4 1/4″ wide | 2/3 mile |
| Eastern Bluebird | Open field or lawn; orchards; open, rural country with scattered trees and low or sparse ground cover; entrance hole should face open field, preferring east, north, south, and then west-facing directions | 3-6 feet | 1 1/2″ diameter (round), or 2 1/4″ high x 1 3/8″ wide (oval) | 300 feet |
| Eastern Screech-Owl | Forests, parks, woodland clearings, forest edges, wooded stream edges, under a tree limb. Add 2″-3″ of wood shavings | 10-30 feet | 3″ round | 100 feet |
| European Starling | Habitat generalists, nesting in areas ranging from rural and agricultural to suburban and urban areas, but they avoid heavily wooded, mountainous, and arid regions | providing nest boxes is discouraged for this species in the U.S. | can squeeze through holes with 1 9/16″ diameter | 5 feet |
| Great Crested Flycatcher | Deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous forests, forest edges, woodlots, orchards, parks, on post or tree at forest edge | 3-20 feet | 1 3/4″ round | 1 box per 6 acres |
| Hooded Merganser | Quiet, shallow, clear water pools surrounded by or near the edge of deciduous woods: small forest pools, ponds, swamps; add 3″ of wood shavings; add ladder under inside of entrance hole for young to climb out | 6-25 feet | 3″ high by 4″ wide horizontal oval | 100 feet |
| House Sparrow | Agricultural, suburban, and urban areas; tend to avoid woodlands, forests, grasslands, and deserts | providing nest boxes is discouraged for this species in the U.S. | can fit through holes with 1 1/4″ diameter | variable |
| House Wren | Variety of habitats, farmland, openings, open forests, forest edges, shrub lands, suburban gardens, parks, backyards; near trees or tall shrubs | 5-10 feet | 1″ round | 100 feet |
| Mountain Bluebird | Open field or lawn; orchards; open, rural country with scattered trees and low or sparse ground cover; will also use deciduous and coniferous forest edges; entrance hole should face open field, preferring east, north, south, and then west-facing directions | 4-6 feet | 1 9/16″ diameter | 300 feet |
| Mountain Chickadee | Coniferous forests, forest edges, woodland clearings; hole should face away from prevailing wind; 1″ wood shavings can be placed in box | 5-15 feet | 1 1/8″ round | 1 box per 10 acres |
| Northern Flicker | Pastures, groves, woodlots, orchards, fields, meadows, woodland clearings, forest edges, urban parks, on pole or tree at forest edge or along fence rows bordering crop fields; south or east facing; box should be completely filled with wood chips or shavings | 6-12 feet | 2 1/2″ round | 330 feet |
| Prothonotary Warbler | Lowland hardwood forests subject to flooding, stagnant water, swamps, ponds, marshes, streams, flooded river valleys, wet bottomlands; box should be over or near water | 4-12 feet | 1 1/4″ round | 235 feet |
| Purple Martin | Broad open areas (meadows, fields, farmland, swamps, ponds, lakes, rivers) with unobstructed space for foraging on flying insects; there should be no trees or buildings within 40 feet of the martin pole in any direction; houses should be painted white | 10-15 feet | 2 1/8″ round or 3″ wide x 1 3/16″ high crescent | 10 feet |
| Red-breasted Nuthatch | Mixed coniferous-deciduous forests, shrub lands, swamps, farmlands, suburban parks; hole should face away from prevailing wind; 1″ wood shavings can be placed in box | 5-15 feet | 1 1/4″ round | 150 feet |
| Tree Swallow | Open fields near water, expansive open areas, marshes, meadows, wooded swamps; on a post in open areas near tree or fence, east facing | 5-6 feet | 1 3/8″ round | 35 feet |
| Tufted Titmouse | Deciduous forest, thick timber stands, woodland clearings, forest edges, woodlots, riparian and mesquite habitats; hole should face away from prevailing wind | 5-15 feet | 1 1/4″ round | 580 feet |
| Violet-green Swallow | Open or broken deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous forests, wooded canyons, edges of dense forest | 9-15 feet | 1 3/8″ round | 30 feet |
| Western Bluebird | open field or lawn; orchards; open, rural country with scattered trees and low or sparse ground cover; will also use deciduous and coniferous forest edges; entrance hole should face open field, preferring east, north, south, and then west-facing directions | 4-6 feet | 1 1/2″ diameter | 215 feet |
| Western Screech-Owl | Lower elevations, forests, parks, woodland clearings, forest edges, deserts, wooded stream edges, under a tree limb, south or east facing. Add 2″-3″ of wood shavings | 10-30 feet | 3″ round | 1,000 feet |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | Deciduous woodlands, mature forests, woodlots, near open areas, forest edges, orchards, often near water; hole should face away from prevailing wind; 1″ wood shavings can be placed in box | 5-20 feet | 1 1/4″ round | 1,040 feet |
| Wood Duck | Forested wetlands or near marshes, swamps, and beaver ponds; boxes can be installed on posts or poles in water, at least 3 feet above the high water mark, facing south or west. If installing on land, choose a site within 100 feet of water with no branches near the entrance hole and with a predator guard. Place 4 inches of wood shaving in box floor. Box should have fledgling ladder inside entrance hole to enable young to climb out. | 6-30 feet | 4″ wide, 3″ high | 600 feet |
Nest Identification
There are several species of cavity-nesting birds that will nest in martin housing. Examining the eggs and nesting material can offer clues as to which species is residing in your martin housing. Nests of non-native species should be removed. For information on managing native species visit www.purplemartin.org
Attract Nesting Birds to Your Yard
Many North American birds nest in “cavities” (holes in trees and fence posts). Although some birds, such as woodpeckers, can chisel their own holes with their heavy, sharp bills, other cavity-nesters must find suitable holes for nesting.
Unfortunately, suitable nest cavities can be hard to find in much of North America.
One way to solve the nest-site shortage is to provide artificial cavities, also known as birdhouses or nest boxes.
More than 50 species of birds (including Bluebirds, Kestrels, Owls, Titmice, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Wrens, Tree Swallows, and Woodpeckers) will use nest boxes.
Nest Boxes have helped boost populations of many cavity-nesting bird species whose numbers were declining. For example, both Wood Ducks and Eastern Bluebirds recently have made dramatic comebacks.
A Nest Box on your property will provide a valuable home for birds and enjoyable bird watching for you. We will help you figure out which birds you can attract to your yard and what’s the best way and place to mount your nesting boxes.
By attracting Nesting birds, you’ll enjoy the sight of parents and young in your yard.
TIP: if you DO add a nest box or two to your yard, offer your feathered friends some nesting material!
We have the only nesting material available that contains a mixture of five natural-colored materials preferred by North American Nesting Birds! Feathers, String, Cotton, Hemp, and Aspen fiber all included.
Because it contains all of the above, Nesting Material attracts many more birds than cotton only mixtures. Birds and consumers love it!