Bird Houses
How to Build a Birdhouse
Introduction
Birdhouses provide needed shelter for birds and are fun and educational building projects for parents and their children. Many birds prefer a unique nesting home suited for their special needs such as bluebirds and purple martins. Here's how to decide what type of birdhouse is right for your yard.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Step One
Choose a wren bird house for any location. Wrens are tiny birds that live comfortably in the city or country. Wren houses can be hung or attached to a tree or wall. Their openings are only 1 inch in diameter which permits only a tiny wren to enter while deterring sparrows.
Step Two
Select a bluebird house if you live in the suburbs or out in the country. Bluebirds are territorial and very particular when it comes to their nesting requirements. The opening should be 1 1/2 inches wide and placed towards the top of the house. You can find detailed building plans on bird lovers' websites.
Step Three
Attract hairy or downy woodpeckers to your suburban or country yard with a house placed on a pole or tree trunk 10 to 20 feet from the ground. Make the hole 2 inches in diameter and place it towards the top of the house.
Step Four
Fill the woodpecker home with wood shredding to simulate the inside of a dead tree and place a slate predator guard around the opening. Some woodpeckers like to live in the house during the winter, so be sure to have it up year-round.
Step Five
Place a open nesting box or shelf on a tree or window ledge for robins, catbirds, swallows and other birds that prefer an open house. Be sure to build one with a roof so the birds can keep dry. This is a good birdhouse choice for inner-city living.
Step Six
Build a purple martin house if you live near large open spaces preferably near water. Martins love community living and need a large house with many rooms for friends to nest. You also can make martin houses out of dried gourds hung in groupings.
Step Seven
Construct a screech owl or kestrel birdhouse if you live near some woods. These houses have a 3 inch opening high on the front and can be mounted on a tree 8 to 20 feet from the ground. Provide wood shavings inside for nesting material and an inside ladder or grips for the little ones to climb out. Place it on a tree at the edge of a wooded area.
Birdhouses provide needed shelter for birds and are fun and educational building projects for parents and their children. Many birds prefer a unique nesting home suited for their special needs such as bluebirds and purple martins. Here's how to decide what type of birdhouse is right for your yard.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Step One
Choose a wren bird house for any location. Wrens are tiny birds that live comfortably in the city or country. Wren houses can be hung or attached to a tree or wall. Their openings are only 1 inch in diameter which permits only a tiny wren to enter while deterring sparrows.
Step Two
Select a bluebird house if you live in the suburbs or out in the country. Bluebirds are territorial and very particular when it comes to their nesting requirements. The opening should be 1 1/2 inches wide and placed towards the top of the house. You can find detailed building plans on bird lovers' websites.
Step Three
Attract hairy or downy woodpeckers to your suburban or country yard with a house placed on a pole or tree trunk 10 to 20 feet from the ground. Make the hole 2 inches in diameter and place it towards the top of the house.
Step Four
Fill the woodpecker home with wood shredding to simulate the inside of a dead tree and place a slate predator guard around the opening. Some woodpeckers like to live in the house during the winter, so be sure to have it up year-round.
Step Five
Place a open nesting box or shelf on a tree or window ledge for robins, catbirds, swallows and other birds that prefer an open house. Be sure to build one with a roof so the birds can keep dry. This is a good birdhouse choice for inner-city living.
Step Six
Build a purple martin house if you live near large open spaces preferably near water. Martins love community living and need a large house with many rooms for friends to nest. You also can make martin houses out of dried gourds hung in groupings.
Step Seven
Construct a screech owl or kestrel birdhouse if you live near some woods. These houses have a 3 inch opening high on the front and can be mounted on a tree 8 to 20 feet from the ground. Provide wood shavings inside for nesting material and an inside ladder or grips for the little ones to climb out. Place it on a tree at the edge of a wooded area.
Source: eHow