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Birdhouse run

This article is compiled from the videos of GnomonkeyRS. It records what Gnomonkey said, with sources, not verified game fact. See About.

Birdhouse run

Birdhouse run
Type Activity
Videos 3 (first 2021-04-02, latest 2026-06-04)
Main source 1-99 Hunter Guide (Money Making/Fastest EXP) OSRS

Birdhouse run is an activity topic that Gnomonkey covers in 3 videos between 2021-04-02 and 2026-06-04. This article is a stub: his statements are grouped by type, repeated ones merged.

Contents

Requirements

  • Birdhouse runs require the Bone Voyage quest to be completed to access Fossil Island, plus four clockworks, a hammer, a chisel, four logs per birdhouse and at least a stack of 40 hop seeds and a digsite pendant.1

Methods

  • Birdhouse run route: teleport to Fossil Island, take the mushroom to Verdant Valley and place two birdhouses, then take the mushroom back to Mushroom Meadow and grab the last two birdhouse spots.2

Stats and numbers

  • From level 5 up to level 80, birdhouses are technically the fastest Hunter training method, giving 50k XP an hour even at level 5 according to Gnomonkey.1
  • Birdhouses are the fastest non-tick-manipulated Hunter XP in the game, capping at about 200k XP an hour with redwood birdhouses.2
  • You need to do over 2,000 birdhouse runs to reach 99 Hunter, which at five runs a day would take well over a year.3

Tips

  • While hunting herbivore on Fossil Island you can optionally bring birdhouse items and do the runs when they are ready, as you are right next to them, which boosts XP rates quite a bit.4

Gnomonkey's opinion

  • Gnomonkey recommends doing birdhouse runs until at least level 60, as they are significantly faster than other methods.1
  • Gnomonkey says it is a common misconception that birdhouses are the most efficient XP to 99, but that they are a solid method.2
  • Gnomonkey recommends herbivore or black chinchompas over birdhouses once you have the level; even if you hate birdhouse runs, or are making an ultimate ironman with limited time, he says the minimum level to stop doing them is 43.3
  • Gnomonkey says he hates birdhouses and considers them the worst skilling content ever added, because they are hourly, very good training for Hunter, and encourage you to stop what you are doing every hour.5
  • Gnomonkey says watermelon and birdhouse runs sit on the same timer, so players would be encouraged to do a long hourly task of both.6
  • Gnomonkey says birdhouse runs are the XP meta for Hunter until about level 91, when high-level contracts overtake them.7
  • Gnomonkey says he believes Mod Kieran has stated birdhouses were a mistake because they break up content and make you train Hunter through hourly runs.7
  • Gnomonkey considers a sarcastic Reddit post proposing that birdhouses should be slowed down to be on the money: they should have been a high-profit, slower-XP method for bird nests rather than an XP meta.7
  • Gnomonkey says early Hunter is a terrible experience and players just skip it with birdhouses; early creatures and tracking need cleanup.8
  • Gnomonkey plans to make a future video on his thoughts about the birdhouse changes.9
  • Gnomonkey says he has a big hate for birdhouses and thinks they are some of the worst content in the game, and welcomes trying to remove them while buffing low-level Hunter at the same time.10
  • Gnomonkey considers birdhouses a lame piecemeal piece of content that forces players away from other things they are doing, and dislikes that they are basically the only efficient way to train Hunter at early levels.11

Events

  • The Summer Sweep-Up proposes increasing bird nest output from birdhouses by 50% and making it more consistent, while reducing the XP given for checking them, with a big reduction at the low end and a small reduction at the top end.9
  • The blog says Jagex is not fully committed to removing the birdhouse XP and will keep them if people are very desperate to keep them.11

Revision history

Date Video Change
2026-06-04 The New Summer Sweep Update is CRAZY (OSRS) Added: 5 statements (event, opinion)
2025-03-26 Demonic Spade and WHY it was NERFED (OSRS) Added: 6 statements (opinion)
2021-04-02 1-99 Hunter Guide (Money Making/Fastest EXP) OSRS Page created: 9 statements (method, opinion, requirement, stat, tip)
## See also

References

  1. 1-99 Hunter Guide (Money Making/Fastest EXP) OSRS, 2021-04-02. ▶ 0:56 ↩↩↩

  2. 1-99 Hunter Guide (Money Making/Fastest EXP) OSRS, 2021-04-02. ▶ 1:29 ↩↩↩

  3. 1-99 Hunter Guide (Money Making/Fastest EXP) OSRS, 2021-04-02. ▶ 1:55 ↩↩

  4. 1-99 Hunter Guide (Money Making/Fastest EXP) OSRS, 2021-04-02. ▶ 10:00 ↩

  5. Demonic Spade and WHY it was NERFED (OSRS), 2025-03-26. ▶ 4:20 ↩

  6. Demonic Spade and WHY it was NERFED (OSRS), 2025-03-26. ▶ 5:45 ↩

  7. Demonic Spade and WHY it was NERFED (OSRS), 2025-03-26. ▶ 6:45 ↩↩↩

  8. Demonic Spade and WHY it was NERFED (OSRS), 2025-03-26. ▶ 25:14 ↩

  9. The New Summer Sweep Update is CRAZY (OSRS), 2026-06-04. ▶ 46:53 ↩↩

  10. The New Summer Sweep Update is CRAZY (OSRS), 2026-06-04. ▶ 47:25 ↩

  11. The New Summer Sweep Update is CRAZY (OSRS), 2026-06-04. ▶ 47:52 ↩↩

Activities

Inferno • Corrupted Gauntlet • Fortis Colosseum • Hallowed Sepulchre • TzHaar Fight Cave • Nightmare Zone • Deadman Mode • Guardians of the Rift • Volcanic Mine • The Gauntlet • Salvaging • Elf pickpocketing • Soul Wars • Drift net fishing • Trouble Brewing • Ourania Altar • RuneScape 3 Leagues • Sorceress's Garden • Chompy bird hunting • Fortis Colosseum speedrun • Gridmaster • Birdhouse run • Wilderness • Vyrewatch Sentinel • Barrows • Barracuda Trials • Chaos altar • Slayer point boosting • Black chinchompa • Blisterwood tree • Graveyard Agility Course • Kalphite • Deep sea trawling • Rogues' Den • Rooftop Agility courses • Castle Wars • 3-tick 4-granite • Knights of Ardougne • Mixology • God Wars Dungeon

Category: Activities