Converting a breadbin into a desres

[Mercadante]

Sorry, a picture of my old breadbin is not of obvious wildlife interest. But I'd like to make this into a home for something - insects, birds, bats, toads (we have a lot of those), hedgehogs, anything really. My woodworking skills are fairly minimal, although I'm willing to try. Do people have any ideas about what it's most suitable for, and how to adapt it?

It's about 43 cm x 19cm x 20-30 cm (sloping lid):

[tufftie]

I would have thought a bumblebee box perhaps - but I don't have any diags. for those, sorry.

[nightshade]

Looks like a birdbox to me,get down to the cheap shops and buy a flat wood
drill 19 or 25mm (tits or sparrows) and just drill a single hole towards the top
or two holes and put a divider inside.
Alternatively use it as a bat box and drill 4 15mm holes in the bottom at the back edge(nearest the wall) chipping or sawing to join them up to make a long slot. Any help? In both cases cover with roofing felt to make it waterproof and cosy

[Mercadante]

Thanks! Think I'll go for a sparrow house as we have various tit boxes up already. The roofing felt is a great idea - I was worrying about water getting in at the hinge, where there's a small gap along the back, so I'll cover that up.

Would it be good to drill some small drainage holes in what will be the bottom, just in case water gets in, or would that be too draughty?

[nightshade]

I noticed that my sparrow house has a 15mm slot all along the back edge,
possibly for ventilation (or bats) it should be dry anyway but if it makes you feel happy add a couple of small holes although these may attract insects