This Cute DIY Birdhouse Started As A Plastic Plant Pot - Here's How We Made It

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Seeing birds in my backyard splashing in the birdbath, singing in one of our hardwood trees, the cardinal nestled in its nest in our cedar shrub, all add a sense of wonder and serenity to my life. (What would it be like to be able to fly like one of these beautiful creatures?) Since childhood, I have been fascinated by the myriad species to identify and learn about. Definitely not a child anymore, I am lucky that my wife Mary's flower gardening attracts hummingbirds, robins, goldfinches, warblers, cardinals, and the list goes on. Her hobby also means we have a surplus of plastic plant pots, yep, plenty o' pots! These plastic pots can be put into the recycling and of course can be reused if a person should choose to start plants from seeds rather than getting started plants from a nursery. But what if there was another use that could blend my love of birds with Mary's gardening and take advantage of my skills as a woodworker?

While considering various potential topics to write about for Hunker, I came upon a YouTube video where they were converting ceramic plant pots into DIY birdhouses complete with some instructions for doing so. As an expert woodworker who has made some very fancy birdhouses in the past, I thought it might be great fun to take the birdhouse concept for the terra cotta pots and transfer it to our plethora of plastic pots as an environmentally advantageous upcycle. I decided to give the project a try and see how well it worked. After all, modern birdhouses are a trend I support.

By using a plastic pot I was able to build upon the YouTuber's concepts while making the project just a tiny bit easier to make. I kept the essence of the mounting system the same, a disc of wood secured to the inside bottom of the pot. However, because the pot was plastic rather than ceramic, the task was very simple, a bit of hot glue and a couple of washer head screws driven through from the outside of the pot. Also easier was securing the mounting strip to the back of the pot with short deck screws. 

The front of my version of the pot was made from one piece of wood rather than two as shown in the video. I just measured the diameter of the pot's opening and cut out a disk. I drilled a hole for bird access through the front and then mounted the disc using four screws driven through predrilled holes in the pot's rim. (Note: the diameter of the access hole will affect the species of the birds likely to use the birdhouse.) The YouTube builder used a similar technique to mount his two-piece front, but drilling though ceramic is a risk task that can easily fracture the pot. Using the plastic pot and the one-piece front make this version easier without the potential breakage. As a side note, by using screws to attach the front, you can remove it each fall to clean it out, readying it for next spring's occupant. I painted the front and the mounting strip just to add a bit of color. Painting the plastic pot can be done as well.

I was glad I tried out this project. It is a great way to upcycle these plastic pots that benefits the environment. The birdhouse is sturdy and durable. While totally subjective, I think the birdhouse is cute. (You could paint it far more creatively than me if you have an inclination.) In my opinion, this is a great little birdhouse. The original online article I found for making these birdhouses was missing a good bit of information, but the DIY YouTube video the article linked to was very complete, if a bit more complicated than it needed to be. Some of that was driven from the fact that it was a ceramic pot being used rather than a plastic pot. Some other advantages to the plastic pot are that the molded-in drainage holes provide sufficient ventilation, the plastic provides excellent weather protection, and is also very easy to clean in the fall. 

Can an average DIYer build this little birdhouse? The answer to that is yes, but with a very small caveat. They would need a way to cut wood into a circle, not hard but requiring special tools. I used a handheld jigsaw for the task. It is an easy to use and relatively safe power tool. As power tools go, there are some very affordable models available at big box home centers. Another way, shown in the YouTube video is using a coping saw, a time-tested hand tool. They are very affordable like this Jorgensen version. My conclusion? This is a fun, practical project that successfully upcycles plastic pots for the benefit of the environment and birds!