Nest boxes, built to spec and built in volume

Why a habitat program buys boxes

Cavity nesters are insect eaters, and in most working landscapes the limiting factor is not food, it is holes. Mature snags get cleared, fence posts get replaced with metal, and the birds that would do the work have nowhere to raise a brood. A nest box network is the cheapest habitat intervention available per acre, and unlike a hedgerow it produces a countable result in the first season.

That only holds if the box is right. An undersized cleanout door, a decorative perch, or a hole a starling can force means the network fails quietly and nobody notices until the third year of monitoring data.

Three boxes

Built to published nest box recommendations, sized for the species that actually nest in this part of California.

Barn owl boxes are not in the current line. If a barn owl program is what you need, say so in the quote request and I will tell you honestly whether I can build to that spec on your timeline.

Volume pricing

Prices are per unit, delivered within Sonoma, Napa, Marin and Mendocino counties. Field grade: functional finish, no decorative hardware.

Sequential numbering for monitoring, siting guidance, and a per box species and placement card are included at no charge on every order of 10 or more. Orders above 100 units, mixed species programs, and multi season delivery schedules are quoted individually. Custom stencilling, engraved donor plates and branded plaques are available. Purchase orders and net 30 terms accepted from established organizations.

How an order works

1. Tell me the site, not just the count.Acreage, habitat type, what you are trying to accomplish, and whether anyone will be monitoring. A vineyard block and a riparian restoration parcel want different boxes at different spacing.
2. Quote within one business day.Unit price, total, lead time, and a recommended species mix and box count for the acreage. No cost, no obligation.
3. Deposit of 50 percent starts the build.Balance on delivery. Purchase orders and net 30 accepted from established organizations. W-9 provided on request.
4. Two to three weeks for a 40 unit order.Larger runs and mixed programs are scheduled at quote. I will give you a real date, not a range, before you commit.
5. Delivered, numbered and ready to hang.Boxes arrive sequentially numbered for your monitoring records, with mounting hardware if ordered and a siting card for whoever is putting them in the ground.
6. Replacements at cost for the first season.If a box fails structurally in its first year, I replace it at material cost. A habitat program is a multi year commitment and I would rather stand behind the boxes than argue about them.

Built to a spec, not a shape

Most birdhouses sold in America are built for people. These are built against published nest box recommendations from the North American Bluebird Society and Cornell's NestWatch program.

• No perch. Never. A perch is a handhold for a jay, a cat, or a House Sparrow harassing an occupied box.
• Hinged cleanout door, bronze hinge and latch. Old nests hold mites and parasites. A box that cannot be opened every fall is an ornament, and it will be abandoned by year three.
• Brass entry plate. Stops squirrels and woodpeckers enlarging the hole, which is the most common way a bluebird box becomes a starling box.
• Vented at the roof, drained at the floor. Heat out, rain through. Overheating is a leading cause of nestling mortality in unshaded boxes.
• Bare wood inside, always. Finish goes on the outside only. Nestlings peck at interior walls.
• Solid cedar and redwood, three quarter inch. No plywood, no pressure treated stock. A good share of it salvaged fence lumber. Redwood for rot resistance in wet sites.
• Extended back board. Mounts to a post, a T-post, a fence line or the conduit kit without shimming.
• Sequentially numbered. Stamped on the back board so a monitoring volunteer can log box 17 without guessing which one it was.

Who you would be buying from

Bennett Valley Woodworks is a one person shop in Santa Rosa run by Adrian Baker-Kang. Boxes are cut, finished and assembled here, a few minutes from most of the vineyards and preserves they end up on. There is no warehouse and no reseller, which is why the volume pricing is what it is.

Before this I spent most of a decade in disaster recovery, working with public agencies and nonprofits after the 2017 fires, including on my own family's house. I know what a grant funded procurement cycle looks like from the inside, and I will not waste your time with a quote I cannot deliver on.

$1M / $2M general liability, products and completed operations included

CA seller's permit CDTFA, NAICS 321999

Fictitious business name filed, Sonoma County

W-9, COI and additional insured endorsements on request

Request a quote

Tell me roughly what you need. I will come back within one business day with a price, a lead time, and a recommendation on box count and species mix for your acreage.

Prefer to just talk? adrian@bvwoodworks.com or call and text (707) 933-6500.