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Gilwood NestboxIn addition to Messages that have appeared in the Bluebird Mailing Lists on this topic, the following are on the Audubon Society of Omaha website: Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2000 20:30:54 -0400 From: Haleya Priest Subject: Gilwood Has anyone made the new Gilwood or used one as yet??? H Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 01:13:06 -0700 (PDT) From: Daniel Sparks Subject: Re: [Bluebird] Gilwood Haleya, I used one Gilbertson-made Gilwood nest box this past nesting season and had three successful broods. Does
anyone know why the front is recessed? Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 07:59:27 -0400 Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 07:09:25 -0500 From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" Subject: Re: Gilwood box Keith Kridler Mt.. Pleasant, Texas I visited by phone with Steve a couple weeks ago and he believes in a reduced floor area to reduce House Sparrow use of the boxes. He also believes in a VERY simple box style with no angled cuts. My opinion of the recessed front is that it saves ripping the sides down (many people do not own a table saw) It gives more overhang for the entrance and the sides will limit a driving rain entering the box as he does not use drain holes and any moisture would soak into the nesting material. By recessing the front board the pivot wire will be back further in solid wood where as in most boxes with the pivot nails or screws they are located just 3/8" back from the wood edge and are very apt to split over the years with heavy wear and tear (or asingle raid of a raccoon)! Care on selecting the front board wood is very important in this style as only a small amount of wood is left holding the top pivot point. Solid wood must be run vertically or the corners will split off! Close grained wood (smaller distance between growth rings in the tree) would be very desirable. There
is an excellent article on this box with good drawings by our very own
list member Fawzi Emad in the new fall 2000 issue of Bluebird put out quarterly
by The North American Bluebird Society. If you have not received this issue
yet then join up and ask for this back issue! From: carol fitzpatrick House sparrows like a dark, deep cavity. The big hole in the Gilwood lets in more light and the box has a small interior that house sparrows do not like. The wire across the large entrance hole actually makes the hole smaller thus preventing starlings from entering but yes house sparrows can enter. The small interior would also deter starlings. Carol Fitzpatrick Date: Sun, 10 Nov 2002 12:25:57 -0800 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Even though I have never tried a Gilwood box, I doubt if the extra light from the oversized entry hole would have any long-term effect on deterring house sparrows. During 2001 and 2002 I acquired house sparrow problem sites from other monitors and I am using boxes with an extra hole. The combined area of the two entry holes on my test boxes would be equivalent to the large Gilwood entrance and it does not seem that extra light coming in through entrance holes (Gilwood or otherwise) is an effective house sparrow deterrent. Anyone my access the test site links and review the on-line monitor logs: http://home.earthlink.net/~lviolett/ In *addition* to the extra entry hole, some boxes were built with 1/2 of the roof area made from plexiglas. The interior of the 1/2 plex roof boxes are literally bathed in light: (see photo of box at: http://home.earthlink.net/~lviolett/construction.html ). Note: My boxes hang under leafy trees so the extra light coming in through the roof does not receive direct sunlight (would not be a danger to nesting birds). A few of the 1/2 plex boxes were placed at the test sites and house sparrows
used them. Extra light coming into boxes, from my experience, is not an effective long-term From: Mary Beth Roen [mailto:mbroen"at"hotmail.com] Last year on my trail of 27 widely spaced nestboxes, I had 6 Gilwood boxes. Of the 44 EABLs that fledged from my trail, 22 were in Gilwood boxes! This was enough for me to realize that the EABLs preferred the Gilwood box, and so I replaced 14 other boxes with Gilwoods. I still have 1 Gilbertson PVC box up, as it already has a nest in it, 1 two-holed mansion given to me by Linda Violett, one chalet type box and 5 slot boxes from the Bluebirds across Nebraska group. This year due to competition from Tree Swallows, I also paired my boxes on 14 sites. ( I now have 28 boxes), I am really looking forward to the NABS convention in NY and hope to see many of you there! ... A Gilwood box is made by Steve Gilbertson, Aitken, MN. He also makes the Gilbertson PVC box. The Gilwood is a well-built wooden box with a larger semi-circle opening that has a metal pin across the top to keep it small enough to prevent starlings from entering. It provides more light in to the box to hopefully make it less attractive to house sparrows. The door opens from the top down and has a nail to secure it, like a Peterson door. It has a large roof that overhangs on all sides. The overhang on the back of the box has a hole drilled partway in, so the conduit post fits up in it, and then the box is secured to the post with two u-shaped fasteners with screws, so it takes just minutes to place a post and box. I think they are one of the best nest boxes available. Steve has no web site, but I can get you his address and number if you want, or I can send a picture. Mary Roen, River Falls, WI From: Tony
Berg [mailto:w1vah"at"yahoo.com] "The door opens from the top down and has a nail to secure it, like a Peterson door." Not the Gilwood nestbox that I know. The wire at the top that sets the height of the hole also serves as a hinge. I made 6 of these boxes and found that I always had to pull the nests forward to see their contents, unlike my experience with NABS-style boxes. ... Where on the internet is the detail of the bottom hinge shown? The NABS web site's plan for the Gilwood box shows the hinge at the top. Tony From: Mary Beth Roen [mailto:mbroen"at"hotmail.com] Tony, I believe Steve just started making the boxes with the hinge on the bottom exclusively this year. If you like, I'll send you a picture of the ones I have. If you would like to contact Steve Gilbertson yourself, his telephone number is (218)927-1953 and his address is 35900 Dove St., Aitkin, MN 56431. ...Steve has changed the design of his box to open from the top down due to monitor's preferences. Mary Roen, River Falls, WI From: L Violett [mailto:lviolett"at"earthlink.net] Another myth is that light deters HOSP. The large hole on the Gilwood box does not deter HOSP because it adds extra light. My boxes are built with two 1.5" round holes which approximately equates to the area of the Gilwood "mouse hole" opening. HOSP will absolutely use well-lit boxes if given the chance. In fact, based on the "Extra Light Deters HOSP/Bees Myth", I built several boxes with 1/2 of the roof made of Plexiglass. The only deterrence to HOSP was the newness/change factor of the 1/2 plex roof appearance. After the newness wore off, the extra light did not deter HOSP (or bees). Now, if you remove the entire door of the nestbox, that works until you put the door back on. From: Mary Beth Roen [mailto:mbroen"at"hotmail.com] Hi Bet and all, On my trail of 28 paired boxes, I have 18 Gilwood boxes, 7 BAN slot boxes, 1 chalet type box, 1 Gilbertson and 1- 2 hole mansion box given to me by Linda Violett. I had 11 nestings in the Gilwood boxes, 7 nestings in the slot boxes, 2 in the Gilbertson, and none in the Chalet or 2 hole mansion of EABLs. For Tree Swallows, I had 8 nestings in Gilwoods, 2 in slots and one in the chalet. I think my birds prefer the Gilwoods. Mary Roen, River Falls, WI From: Bruce Burdett [mailto:blueburd"at"tds.net] Mary, Could you remind me what a Gilwood looks like? Bruce Burdett From: Elizabeth Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] Current version of Gilwood box (made by Steve Gilbertson) has a 2.25" diameter half circle hole at the very top of the door under the roof, with a metal bar across it that can be reshaped depending on species. Flat roof. Smallish. I just bought 10 from Steve, was very impressed with construction and wood quality, and they came with kerfs and roof drip line already routed in. His latest version opens from the front (vs. roof). See photo at bottom of http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/catalog/suppliers.htm Plans at http://audubon-omaha.org/bbbox/nestbox/gilwood.htm Bet From: Burnham, Barbara [mailto:Barbara.Burnham"at"zzz.zzz] For Gilbertson Boxes and traps , you can buy them directly from Steve. He's not a high volume big corporation with a fancy website, just a great guy. Give him a call. He's fun to talk to, and will give you a price break on multiple orders. (I keep an extra Gilbertson PVC on hand so I can swap each one out as soon as the brood fledges. Then I can clean out the used one when ever I have time, and the birds have a clean box ready to go, as they will often begin rebuilding within a day. I also keep extra traps and a mobile decoy box to deploy whenever HOSP show an interest.) I doubt if Steve takes credit cards. You can find online sources or bird shops that will take credit cards, but you will pay more. Steve Gilbertson Barbara Burnham Ellicott City, MD From: Elizabeth Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] FYI, I heard that Fawzi Emad has set up a website for Steve Gilbertson at http://www.gilbertsonnestbox.com/. Contact info and a faxable order form are on the site. I agree that he's an interesting fellow to talk to - I learned a lot when I contacted him. I'm trying out some Gilwood boxes on my trail this year…. I have one paired with a Peterson that has been used by bluebirds several years in a row, so it will be interesting to see which one they go for. Bet from CT From: Elizabeth Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] I purchased a number of Gilwood boxes from Steve Gilbertson last year to try out on my small trail Steve believes house sparrows (HOSP) avoid a Gilwood box because it has a small interior that neither house sparrows nor starlings prefer. Also, the wire across the large entrance hole actually makes the hole smaller thus preventing starlings from entering. Gilbertson and Gilwood boxes from designer: http://www.gilbertsonnestbox.com/ From: Mary Beth Roen [mailto:mbroen"at"hotmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 8:51 AM Subject: Buying Blue Bird Nesting Boxes Question [in response to a question about where to buy Gilwood boxes that open from the top down] I don't know if you have received any responses from your question. Steve Steve Gilbertson or call him at 218-927-1953 Mary Roen, River Falls, WI From: Lynneridgeway"at"aol.com [mailto:Lynneridgeway"at"aol.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 10:47 AM Subject: Re: Buying Blue Bird Nesting Boxes Question The New York State Bluebird Society sells Herman Bressler Bluebird nest boxes that open from the front, top down. Just go to NYSBS.com and click on "For Sale". The nest boxes are not pictured but are the first item listed. They are wonderful! Any questions, please ask! From: Mary Beth Roen [mailto:mbroen"at"hotmail.com] Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2005 9:22 PM Subject: First Bluebird .... First I saw a starling squeeze into a Gilwood box but had such a hard time getting in and out, he Mary Roen, River Falls, WI From: Pat & Katrina Lawson [mailto:patnkatng "at"cox.net] Bet, I don't have a problem here with HOSP (knock on wood). But I had a pair of EUST try to nest in a Peterson style box. The oval entrance is, apparently, not a problem for the slightly smaller EUST. Katrina (in SE Virginia) From: Bernie Daniel [mailto:bdaniel "at"cinci.rr.com] Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 8:23 AM Subject: Re: nestbox style (Peterson) and HOSP ... The real merit to the Gilwood is that it is very simple to make I can turn a pile of cedar lumber in 6 Gilwoods in about 4 hours or so. Also Bluebirds do seem to like them. If you are going to make Gilwoods boxes I suggest these three modifications over what is on the NABS site: 1) make the back, bottom, and door 4.5"wide instead of 3.5 inches like recommended the original plans. I just buy a piece of 6 inch stock and rip it down to 4.5 inches, 2) forget about that complicated door on the original design. Just make are plain door about 8.5 inches long with a round hole about 1 inch down from the top. Then hang the door (hinged at either the top or bottom (your choice) so you have 0.5 inch slot at the top for ventilation. 3) make the roof 12 inches long to give more overhang in front. Done this way the Gilwood -- which I call the Ohiowood -- is makes simple, roomy box for Bluebirds -- but a Sparrow will not hesitate to use it. However, I have put up several Ohiowood boxes with a "Bermudez" 2.75 inch hole in some areas that have a lot of Sparrows and only had Tree Swallows use it -- eliminated the Sparrow problems at the site -- take it for what it is worth. Its happened this way now for two years. I have drawn up these altered plans in a Word file with figures -- happy to send them along. If you buy two boards: one 8 inch X 1 inch X 8 foot and one 6 inch X 1 inch x 6 foot you can make exactly 2 of these boxes Bernie |
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