Birdfeeders

Good birdhouses are built for a specific species of bird and are designed to meet the needs of that bird. Most important is the size of the entrance hole. Make sure the birdhouse opening is the correct size for the bird you are trying to attract. If the hole is too large, other species will likely move in and it is a better target for predators. Once you have picked out your birdhouse, the next important question is where to hang it. It needs to be close enough to plants and trees for the parents to be comfortable, but far enough away to discourage predators. Usually, 6-8 feet is about right. The other consideration is position. You don’t want the opening to face directly into the sun or the wind. If it can be put up in at least partial shade, it will stay cooler and be sure it has some ventilation holes. If the birdhouse you choose doesn’t have any, drill some before you put it up. Hopefully, you will have a family in the new birdhouse before long. When the season is over, be sure to clean out the house thoroughly to prepare for your next guests.

Kestrels are small falcons that feed on mice, voles, insects and beetles. They are commonly seen hovering over the grasslands along highways and can be seen swooping down on their prey from this hovering vantage point or from a high perch. While driving, watch for them perched on telephone wires which is a favorite place. They can be found in open country and in cities all over the United States. If you live near open grassland with large trees available, you might want to consider putting up a Kestrel house. These attractive birds usually nest in hollow trees but seem to take easily to an artificial Kestrel house. The house should be placed at least 20 feet off the ground, either in a tree or on the side of a building in a sheltered position. It is a good idea to put a couple of inches of wood chips in the bottom of your Kestrel house.

Once you are lucky enough to have a mated pair of Bluebirds choose your bluebird house, the female builds the nest in 4 to 5 days with very little help from the male. The female incubates the eggs with the male occasionally spending the night with her. The female lays 4 or 5 light blue eggs that hatch in 13-15 days. The male catches insects to feed the nestlings a high protein diet for their rapidly developing bones and muscles. The young will fledge in 15-20 days, but for about 2 weeks after fledging, the parents continue to feed the young while they learn to fend for themselves. This is always fun to watch. Often Bluebirds will re-nest and raise a second brood. These family units often stick together until the following spring. The key to attracting Bluebirds to nest is having plenty of nesting locations along with food and water. Many people have 3-4 bluebird houses in different locations on their property. Bluebirds prefer open areas mixed with trees. Since they naturally use tree cavities, a tree trunk is an ideal mounting place for the house. However, they also love wooden fence posts, so mounting a bluebird house on a pole 4-8 feet high in an open area can  also be quite successful. It is also a good idea to have the hole facing south or east for sun exposure if possible. If another species like a Tree Swallow insists on using the bluebird house, put another bluebird house up right next to the first one. Tree Swallows will not let another swallow nest nearby, but they will let Bluebirds occupy the neighboring house.

Now that bluebird populations are coming back, there is a bluebird species in all of the lower 48 states. Mountain bluebirds are larger and stronger than the other two species and even breeds as far north as eastern Alaska. This species also needs a slightly larger birdhouse hole (1 9/16 inches instead of 1 1/2 inches). Mountain bluebirds also do more migrating than the others as they winter in Texas in large flocks. Eastern and western bluebirds only migrate far enough south to find reliable food supplies. Interestingly, bluebirds flock in the winter and even sleep together in bluebird houses or tree cavities on cold nights. During mild winters, they may even stay near their breeding areas if there is food available. Bluebirds always seem to enjoy using bluebird houses, so it is great fun to have at least one in your yard. By early February there is activity around bluebird houses which continues through May anyway. We have found that having 2-3 bluebird houses if you have the space, offers a better opportunity to attract them, even if starlings or house finches manage to occupy one.

If you want to attract bluebirds to your yard, you must have two things. First, obviously, is a bluebird house, or actually, 2-4 bluebird houses are even better. The other absolutely necessary ingredient is the proper habitat. Bluebirds love open grassy area for that is where they find their food. These birds do not pursue their food, but rather they sit on a perch, such as a fence, and watch for  the movement of insects below. Bluebirds have excellent eyesight so when they spot movement, they simply swoop down to catch the grasshopper, cricket, caterpillar, etc. If you have a large open grassy area near your home, you have an excellent chance of attracting bluebirds by offering bluebird houses out in the open. Since bluebirds are cavity nesters but cannot carve out their own tree cavities, they depend on either finding a cavity available in a tree or using a bluebird house that we provide. It can be difficult to find a nesting cavity that is not already occupied, so the help we provide is quite necessary to the continuing success of this species.

Of course, the reason we put up a birdhouse is to have birds build a nest in it during the spring season, but that doesn’t mean we need to wait until spring to put up our birdhouses. Actually, now is a wonderful time to put one up. The longer your birdhouses are part of your backyard habitat, the more likely it is that birds will accept it and use it. If there is a birdhouse up in the dead of winter, it may even become a nightly shelter for a nuthatch, chickadee, bluebird or downy woodpecker. If a bluebird discovers your bluebird house is a friendly shelter during the winter, there is a good chance it will return to nest in the spring. Check the birdhouse occasionally for signs of use, but be very sure that it is sufficiently baffled from predators or they will follow your scent, right to the birdhouse!

There are some basic things to know before putting up a birdhouse. The first thing is to identify the bird or birds you want to attract to your birdhouse. Different species require different size birdhouses with different size openings. If you aren’t sure what species you have, an all-purpose birdhouse with a hole diameter of 1.5 inches will attract most small hole-nesting birds. After picking a birdhouse, the next decision is where to put it. When we put up our first bird house, we made the mistake of putting it so far from the house that we couldn’t observe the goings and comings of birds - no fun at all. While we want them close enough to watch, we also want to be sure they are safe. Do not put a birdhouse on a tree! The biggest reason to avoid trees is the raccoon. They are smart and will figure out how to raid a birdhouse in a tree very quickly. Snakes will also find it (I know it’s creepy, but it’s true!). This is also true of fence posts. While visiting Santa Fe, we took a train ride out in the surrounding countryside where there had been an extensive project of putting up bluebird houses. They had mounted hundreds on fence posts. After discovering how easily these houses were raided, they had to go back and remount them all on poles. The easiest solution is a galvanized metal pipe. We bought an eight foot long one with a diameter under one inch. Bury it two feet in the ground so it will be solid and sturdy, even in strong winds. This gives you a six foot pole to mount the birdhouse on. This will keep it safe from predators. Be sure to place it away from trees or other jumping off places.

As you become familiar with what species of birds visit your yard, you can decide what kind of bird house would most likely be used. Among the birds that commonly use bird houses are bluebirds, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, woodpeckers and even some ducks and owls. Bats are quite useful night hunters of insects, so providing bat houses for them is especially useful. By providing housing in our yards, we take a step toward replacing some of the loss of natural habitats. As time goes on, there are fewer and fewer dead or hollow trees, piles of brush, etc. which are prime nesting spots. If you plan on adding a bird house or bat house to your yard, now is a good time. The local birds will see the new addition as something strange at first, but over the winter and early spring, it will begin to look like a natural part of the environment and have a better chance of being occupied in the spring.

I know I should save this hint for spring, but I just came across a great idea that I don’t want to forget. In the spring, when we are trying to encourage the use of our birdhouses, offering nest building materials is always a good idea. Putting out short pieces of cotton string, straw, yarn, etc. are all good ideas, but I can hardly wait to try this idea! Buy a white cotton string mop head. Make sure none of the string is longer than 12-14 inches and cut apart any loops so all the strings hang as single strings. Then simple nail the mop head onto a fence post, deck post or any place that is easy to observe, but out in the open for birds to see. It is helpful if it is in a location that is easy for a bird to perch on. This mop should be visited by many local nest builders including orioles and other songbirds as they work hard to pull loose the individual strings.

Sometimes when setting up a birdhouse in the yard, it can fail to attract birds for months and even years.  This can be due to numerous factors, but it’s also important to remember that birds often won’t enter a birdhouse the first year it’s available.  Often the birdhouse smells like humans and birds tend to be wary of it until it’s been weathered.  The other factors that can cause birds to avoid birdhouses can be attributed to their position in the yard.  For example, smaller birds want to have a sheltered area where they can be out of sight of predators.  These areas might be near a bush, on a tree trunk, or in an area with deep foliage or tall grass.  Birdhouses that are out in the open will be avoided for fear of predators viewing the birds from above.

When placing a birdhouse, it’s also a good idea to have a bird feeder at a nearby location.  The bird feeder should correspond to the same type of birds that use the birdhouse, for example, a peanut feeder shouldn’t be near a birdhouse intended for chickadees, swallows, and finches.