I’m Scott Saunders, the designer behind Wingedhaven Retreats. Woodworking has been part of my life since childhood. I built my first chair from 2×4s when I was eight, and later spent five years as a high-end custom cabinetmaker. That background still shapes how I approach a project: the parts need to fit, the instructions need to be clear, and the finished work needs to hold up.
Birding is another long-standing part of my life. In the Pacific Northwest, I led Audubon birding walks and helped coordinate the Tahoma Bird Alliance Christmas Bird Count. My interest in birds and my experience in the workshop eventually came together in nest-box building. A few boxes I built as gifts found occupants, and a custom project for a friend showed me how satisfying it was to combine those interests.
Wingedhaven Retreats grew from that combination. I create plans for nest boxes and other wildlife shelters, with each design shaped around the needs of the species it is meant to serve. That means considering the space inside, the entrance, ventilation, drainage, access, materials, and placement—not just the appearance of the finished box.
A plan should make the building process understandable. I build the boxes, work through the construction details, and refine the instructions based on what I learn and on feedback from builders and people who host the boxes. The plans include clear dimensions, cut diagrams, materials information, and step-by-step guidance to help make a successful build attainable for a range of skill levels.
I hope Wingedhaven Retreats helps you make something useful for the birds around you. If you build one of the plans, I’d be glad to hear how it goes.
I write all of the step-by-step construction instructions in Wingedhaven Retreats plans. I develop the nest-box designs in SketchUp and build the boxes to check the plans. I use Nestbox Modeling Studio, an internally developed tool, to create the plan illustrations, diagrams, cut sheets, and thumbnails. Affinity Publisher is used to assemble the PDFs.
ChatGPT assists with cover artwork, selected supplementary copy, design discussions, and a final review of the PDFs for spelling, punctuation, grammar, clarity, and possible accuracy issues.
Feedback from builders and people who use the completed boxes helps me improve the plans over time.