Mounting Birdhouses to a Tree Stump in Landscaping

Stump Size Requirements

• Some birds need their nest boxes to be located relatively high off the ground, but no matter the species, no bird will visit a nesting box if it is located on a tree stump that is cut low to the ground. In addition to allowing predators like squirrels, raccoons and snakes easy access to the box, most birds simply are not comfortable spending much time on the ground. A tree stump more than 6 feet high is preferable, to which a nest box can be affixed to the top or side. Even better is an intact dead tree, which attracts excavators like woodpeckers and flickers as well as smaller species like creepers, wrens and nuthatches.

Birdhouse Mounting Methods

• If the tree in question is dead and remains in the landscape solely to attract birds, boxes are best and most easily mounted by nailing them directly to the stump. Nailing or screwing boxes into living trees is discouraged by experts. A newer method for mounting bird boxes onto tree stumps and trunks involves drilling two small holes in the back of the nest box, passing a rope, chain or plastic-coated wire through the box and around the tree trunk at a point where a limb juts out, then securing the box by looping the two ends and fastening them together. This allows the tree to grow without restriction from bolts, screws or a tight rope.

Species-Specific Height Preferences

• Common cavity nesters such as the bluebird, wren, chickadee, swallow, tufted titmouse, flycatcher and nuthatch will nest in relatively low-mounted nesting boxes placed anywhere from 5 to10 feet off the ground. Larger species like flickers, sapsuckers, woodpeckers and owls need boxes located higher up on a stump or tree, usually between 10 and 20 feet above the ground. When placing boxes for these bird species, consider how the box’s placement and orientation affect access for annual cleaning and inspection. Larger boxes often attract squirrels, whose nests will need to be removed in order for any birds to build their own nests there.

Birdhouse Design Elements

• Though woodpeckers and flickers will carve out a nesting hole in a dead tree stump of sufficient size, attaching the right-sized box with a properly sized hole to the side of a tree will bring these birds to the yard. Most cavity-nesting species require boxes of a particular size with an entry hole that is small enough to admit them entry while denying entry to larger competing bird species or predators. Bluebird houses are one of the best known examples, requiring an entry hole of 1 1/2 inches, a floor size of 5 inches by 5 inches and an overall box height of 8 inches. Smaller species, like the downy woodpecker, chickadee and house wren, prefer boxes with a smaller hole but will use a bluebird box if it is available. Most cavity nesters also like a box that has a slightly overhanging roof and sides with small ventilation holes drilled near the roof.