Birdhouses in OSRS are a popular way to train the Hunter skill passively, while making a bit of profit in the process. Players set up birdhouses in various locations around Fossil Island, then harvest them after a set amount of real world time.
They give a great amount of Hunter experience relative to the effort put in, and each birdhouse harvested has a chance to drop bird’s nests, valuable items that can also have valuable seeds, jewellry, or clue scrolls found within.
These awesome experience and money making rates make birdhouses the only way many players train Hunter, until a certain milestone of their choosing is reached, such as 80 Hunter for Herbiboar. I will demonstrate how to achieve fast Hunter experience and profit rates in this OSRS birdhouse guide.
Bone Voyage
The first step toward birdhouse trapping in Old School RuneScape is to unlock access to Fossil Island, which is the only area in the game where birdhouses can be placed. This requires you to complete the quest “Bone Voyage.”
You can start ‘Bone Voyage’ by speaking to Curator Haig Halen in the Varrock Museum, after you have received one hundred Kudos. You also need to have completed the previous quest in the chain, “The Dig Site.”
Also, the birdhouses have specific locations marked on the in game world map. I’ve circled what they look like in the following screenshot:
Fast Travel Access
Once you have Fossil Island unlocked, the next step in the OSRS birdhouse guide is to access the mycelium transport system. When you complete the quest, head up to the House on the Hill, and go up the stairs. There will be a large mushroom right outside.
Click on the mushroom. You will not be able to teleport using the system since you have not unlocked any destinations, but you will unlock the House on the Hill mushroom. The two other mushrooms you need to unlock are the Verdant Valley and the Mushroom Meadow.
The Mushroom Meadow mushroom is northwest of the Museum Camp (where you land when arriving to Fossil Island) and the Verdant Valley is southeast of the Museum Camp. Simply run to these mushrooms and click on them to unlock them.
With the mycelium transport system unlocked, you can quickly teleport between birdhouse areas. There are four spots for birdhouses on Fossil Island, two in the Mushroom Meadow, and two in the Verdant Valley.
I would highly recommend using a Digsite Pendant to teleport right to Fossil Island when doing your birdhouse runs. There is a strange machine inside the House on the Hill that you can use your Digsite Pendant on, unlocking a teleport directly to that location.
Birdhouse Crafting
Now that you can fast travel between these spots, it’s time to make the birdhouses. They are made by using the Crafting skill on a set of logs and a piece of clockwork, with a hammer and chisel. The required Crafting level is determined by the tier of logs used.
To build a birdhouse, simply use a set of logs on a piece of clockwork, with a hammer and chisel in your inventory. If you have the required Crafting level, your character will build a birdhouse trap. Consider gathering logs at the best place to cut yews and other logs.
You can make regular birdhouses at 5 Crafting, Oak birdhouses at 15 Crafting, Willow birdhouses at 25 Crafting, Teaks at 35 Crafting, Maple at 45 Crafting, Mahogany at 50 Crafting, Yew at 60 Crafting, Magic at 75 Crafting and Redwoods at 90 Crafting.
The tier of logs used for the birdhouse has a significant impact on the loot you receive when harvesting them. Also note that each tier has a corresponding Hunter level needed to actually place them. If you can place a higher tier birdhouse than you can craft, you can also buy the premade bird houses from the Grand Exchange.
You can place regular birdhouses at 5 Hunter, Oaks at 14 Hunter, Willows at 24 Hunter, Teaks at 34 Hunter, Maples at 44 Hunter, Mahogany at 49 Hunter, Yews at 59 Hunter, Magic at 74 Hunter, and Redwoods at 89 Hunter.
Placing Birdhouses
Make four birdhouses from the best logs you can, and head to Fossil Island. Head up to the mushroom transports, and go to either the Mushroom Meadow or Verdant Valley. You will immediately see a spot for bird houses in either.
In the Verdant Valley, the two spots are almost directly next to each other, while the Mushroom Meadow has one spot immediately north of the mushtree, and another to the direct south, right before the scenery transitions into the tar swamp.
Simply click on these spots to place your birdhouses. That being said, you are hunting with the birdhouses, meaning they are traps in need of bait. To activate the birdhouses, you must also place ten low level hop or herb seeds, or five high level hop or herb seeds.
Your loot from the birdhouses is determined by the tier of logs used to make the birdhouse, not the type of seeds they are baited with. Therefore, you should use the cheapest, easiest to obtain seeds for your birdhouse runs.
To arm your birdhouse traps, simply use the stack of seeds on your placed birdhouse. You will get a chat message along the lines of “Your birdhouse trap is now full of seeds and ready to catch birds.”
Repeat this process in all four spots, and your birdhouse traps are set. Now, all you need to do is wait. After forty five to fifty real world minutes, return to your birdhouses to harvest them. When dismantling, you will get the clockwork used back, so you only need to bring logs, seeds, a hammer, and a chisel on return trips.
Final Thoughts
You can gain incredible passive Hunter experience and profit rates using this OSRS birdhouse guide. First, complete the quest ‘Bone Voyage’ to unlock Fossil Island. Then, make sure to unlock the mycelium transport systems for quick travel between birdhouse spots.
Make birdhouses using your Crafting level, then place them in the predetermined spots across Fossil Island. Make sure to fill them with the cheapest, easiest to obtain seeds you can, and simply wait 45-50 real world minutes. Then, you can come back, loot, and start the process over again.
