Birdhouse
Construction
Building Birdhouses
Decorative birdhouses are a great way to add
color and decorations to your gardens and
woodland. They can be made in an
infinite
number of styles and fashions to suit your taste. Usually birdhouses
are made from wood; however they may be made out of concrete or metal. The metal
portion of a birdhouse should be limited to the roof only. Tin cans should be
avoided as they give off toxins that may poison baby chicks.
Approximately
four square feet of scrap wood is all that is required to make a suitable
birdhouse. Pressure treated wood should be avoided and plywood that is not an
exterior plywood should not be used as it will break down very quickly in wet
weather. The roof is usually hinged to permit leaning after a nesting season.
Birdhouse may be painted just about any color or combination of colors.
The hole is the birdhouse is all important.
Obviously
small birds such a wrens or finch need a smaller hole than swallows. I
usually make my holes an inch in diameter up to one and a half inch for larger
birds. If you do not want the
nuisance that large birds can often cause, such as martins, use a smaller hole
so the birdhouse will only attract smaller birds.
Positioning a birdhouse is also very important.
It should almost always be positioned so that the hole is facing southeast to
southwest. If the birdhouse is positioned toward a northerly direction it is not
likely to attract any birds. This is because most inclement weather comes from a
northerly direction.
General Construction for Building
Birdhouse:
Use a hinged roof to facilitate cleaning. Clean
the birdhouse in early spring before nesting begins.
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Drill at least three small vent holes in the
bottom and two larger holes in the top of the house.
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The roof should overhang the front by at least an
inch to protect entrance hole from rain.
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Do not place a perch on a birdhouse unless you
want starlings or house sparrows. All other birds do not require perches.
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Space your birdhouses at least 20 to 25 feet
apart as most birds are territorial.
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Attach your bird house to a post or tree with the
hole facing in a southerly direction.
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Remove unwanted quests such as squirrels and chipmunks.
Placing Birdhouses in your yard is a great way to perk
up the outside of your home. They provide a "birds eye view" for
viewing all sorts of bird activities from initial nesting to the
chicks first flight. Keep in mind that the type of birds you want to
nest in your birdhouses can be controlled by the style of the
birdhouse and the size of the hole.
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