There are a number of organisations that have developed nest box designs for the particular preferences of Australian hollow nesting species. I would strongly recommend either purchasing from an experienced Australian nest box designer, or sourcing designs that have been specifically designed for Australian native species to construct your own.

Your choice of materials used to make a nest box matters heaps, as nest boxes need to be able to survive exposed to all types of weather, and provide the type of insulating shelter that a natural tree hollow provides. Don’t forget, that a nest box is attempting to replicate a natural tree hollow, it’s not just a wooden box attached to a tree.

Nest box designs: making your own

See the individual nest box designs by species links on the right side menu –> of this page for designs by species. For mobile phones, the list is right down the bottom of this page. Sorry, this free theme isn’t optimised for mobile devices.

Here is a link to a booklet that I’ve compiled, with tried and tested designs with key design features, for a range of different hollow using species.

Australian Hollow Using Species Nest Box Design BookletDownload

Here is a link to a booklet on suggestions for materials to use, and not to use when making nest boxes, also the key design features that nest boxes need to include to prevent harm, bedding to add, and installation tips.

Nest Box Materials and Key Design FeaturesDownload
Nest box designs for all. From the left a Boobook Owl design, a design for Wood Ducks, and a design for small parrots. The local Wood Ducks also love the Boobook Owl design, as well as their own design. The resident Crimson and Eastern Rosellas clearly prefer the small parrot, and Rosella designs over the larger entranced King Parrot and Galah designs. Crimson Rosellas will occasionally use these bigger entranced boxes if desperate.

Purchasing nest boxes

I have outsourced the designing and making of my nest boxes to Hollow Log Homes, who have been designing, making, and monitoring installed nest boxes across Australia for 20 years. Hollow Log Homes from what I can tell, are the only Australian nest box maker that use all certified sustainably harvested wood products, they also have a recycled plastic nest box range too that are more durable. Because of the thickness and quality of hardwood plywood and cypress timber used, the nest boxes are also the most durable of the options I’ve seen available for sale. They can be shipped quickly & inexpensively by Austraila Post. I paint all of my nest boxes to improve their durability, and to match the colours of our woodland trees for better camouflage from predators.

https://www.hollowloghomes.com

For WA and SA only: you are after nest boxes for Black Cockatoos then the Cockatubes, I believe are the most successful design. However only found to be successful for Black Cockatoo species in SA and WA, Eastern State Black Cockatoo species haven’t been found to use artificial tree hollows. Cockatubes are made by Serpentine-Jarrahdale Landcare in Western Australia. However do your research before purchasing and installing, as the most successful cockatubes have been found to be those that have been installed near existing nesting spots (natural), with much less nesting success found for Cockatubes installed in random areas far away from natural nesting locations. See the DEC link below for more information. I believe jury is out on artificial nesting options for Eastern States Black Cockatoos, apparently they have never been found to nest in nest boxes of any type. Yet… https://blackcockatoos.org.au/nest-boxes

Department of Environment and Conservation Western Australia, project report of artificial hollows for Carnaby’s black cockatoo, including nest box design and placement information, successses and failures: https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/plants-animals/threatened-species/carnabys/Research_into_the_success_of_artificial_hollows_for_Carnabys_cockatoo.pdf

Below are some examples of designs for different species that I have installed on my property.

My for-smaller parrot and Rosella nest boxes all have very thick cypress timber on the nest box entrance side, to prevent vigorous wood chewers such as Galahs from damanging them. As you can see, someone has tried!
A Wood Duck using a for-Wood Duck designed Hollow Log Homes nest box.
The local Wood Ducks also love the Black Cockatoo nest box, however it needs to have nesting material to about 7-10 cm (after compaction) below the entrance, otherwise most ducklings won’t be able to get out, and will die. Yup, learnt the hard way!
My resident Kookaburra parent hard at work feeding three youngsters in the for-Kookaburra nest box.
My for-Sugar Glider nest box was a hit almost immediately, this one in use most nights.
A Galah checking out the for-Galah/large parrot nest box high up in a tree (15–20m)
One of my for-Tree Creeper nest boxes, clearly not going to fit this Ringtail family.
My for-Boobook Owl nest boxes are a favourite of the resident Wood Ducks, this box was home to two Wood Duck families last nesting season.
One of my for-Rosella nest boxes, with three Eastern Rosella chicks inside.

Your choice of wood products used to construct a nest box matters

Some nest box inhabitants will chew and consume some of the wood / paint products inside or outside of the nest box. Because of this, treated wood is not recommended for nest boxes, and neither is chip board that contains lots of glues. Also recommended, is to paint only the outside of a nest box (to improve durability), but not the inside, as animals will potentially consume toxic paint products during their nest box renovation activities.

Think child safe, if a child could safely chew and consume what is inside of the nest box – wood products, paints (or lack of) etc, then it will be non-toxic for any wildlife occupants.

Also an important consideration is that cheap, thin plywood = poor nest box durability and also poor thermoregulation qualities (icy cold in winter, scorching hot in summer). The success of a bird nest box, and frequency of nest box use by arboreal mammals will be significantly reduced for nest boxes that are ice boxes in winter and ovens in summer.

Thin plywood nest boxes are also easily damaged by persistant chompers – Galahs are a common culprite for enlarging small nest box entrances, such that the target (smaller) species will generally no longer use the nest box, as the entrance is too large to ensure safety from predators and competitors. An easy to chew nest box may be so damaged in the renovations efforts by Galahs that it becomes of no use for any species to use, including by Galahs.

Have you checked to know if your choice of wood products were illegally harvested from a tropical rainforest, or if they are certified sustainably harvested? Cheap non-plantation timbers and cheap uncertified plywood are highly likely to have been harvested from a rainforest in a developing country, with few environmental protections in place. Sure, these products are often considerably cheaper than the sustainably harvested alternatives, but does making a nest box for wildlife in Australia that involved the destruction of valuable habitat elsewhere, really make sense?

You do get what you pay for. Please consider the origin of the timber products, and durability in outdoor conditions when purchasing wood products to make your own nest boxes, or when purchasing nest boxes sold by others.

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