Why Do We Need Bird Houses?

Mounting bird houses around the yard can provide hours of enjoyment for bird watchers and aviary enthusiasts. Bird houses also offer benefits for the feathered creatures themselves.

Purpose

Houses provide nesting birds safe shelter to lay eggs and raise fledglings. Houses are also a means of sheltering birds from harsh weather conditions when they are not raising young birds.

Habitat

As human population grows and new developments are built, birds are forced from their natural habitats. Bird houses are a replacement for trees and other natural structures where birds once nested.

Ability

Many bird species do not have the ability to create their own houses or nests and rely on rotting trees, holes made by woodpeckers and man-made bird houses as shelter.

Predators

Humans can mount bird houses with an eye toward keeping predators away from birds that take shelter in them. This is not usually the case in natural environments.

Revival

Some bird species that were nearly decimated by human development, like bluebirds, are thriving once again with the widespread use of bird houses built to suit them.

References

• Backyard Bird
• Bluebirds Forever