How to Provide Nesting for Birds

With the continued encroaching of man on nature, it's important to provide additional housing for our birds. What a joy to look out and see swallows, bluebirds, and wrens using your birdhouses. Here's a few tips before you put up your houses.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Commercial birdhouses
• Or material to make birdhouses
• List of size openings for different birds
• binoculars

1. Know where the birds nest. There are 4 basic locations: Cavities such as tree holes, birdhouses, or buildings. Open areas such as branches and shrubs. Ground nesting such as creating a nest or creating a hole. And finally some birds build nests underground.
2. You will be interested in cavity nesters and open area nesters. Some cavity nesters are woodpeckers, swallows, titmouse, chickadees, wrens, bluebird, sparrows, and finches. Open nesters are goldfinch, robins, and mockingbirds just to name a few.
3. For the cavity nesters, build or buy birdhouses. Before investing in birdhouses, know the criteria. Different species of birds require different dimensions. The entrance hole should be large enough for the bird, but not so large that predators can get in. The interior needs to be large enough to build a nest and deep enough to keep predators from reaching in. Don't worry about aesthetics. The birdhouses don't have to be Better Homes and Garden Houses.
4. Proper materials. Wood that is 5/8 to 3/4 inch thick is a good choice. Commercial birdhouses are made from composite material as well. Avoid birdhouses made of metal and avoid some pressure treated lumber that could be harmful to the bird. There should be a way to clean out the box, either from the top or side.
5. The roof should overhang by 1-2 inches to protect from the rain or sun. Also check to see if the birdhouse has grooves on the inside to help the young crawl out. And finally, is there ventilation?
6. For the open nesters, provide trees and bushes. My robins love the tall spruce tree by my house. Many birds like Mountain Ash trees.

Tips & Warnings

• Check out http://www.merchantmanager.com/wildbird/birdhouseinfo.htm for birdhouse dimensions.