Birds That Nest in Houses
Who are you making a home for?
You will attract many birds to your garden using different lures, like scrumptious bird food, but wouldn't it be nice to know exactly who you can expect to drop in? When you build a bird house, you should be aware of what species you want to move in, and what species you would rather live somewhere else. The first, and best, thing to do is to try to recreate the habitat that your desired bird would want to live in. Do some research and you might just see this bird moving into its new bird house the next time you look out your window.
Purple martin houses are a favorite with many birdwatchers because they are beautiful and rare. A purple martin house will have to be built precisely to the species' specifications in order to attract a martin family. However, once you have martin tenants, chances are they will come back to your house year after year.
Other birds that nest in houses include:
- bluebirds
- chickadees
- flycatchers
- northern flickers
- nuthatches
- warblers
- titmice
- tree and violet-green swallows
- woodpeckers
- yellow-bellied sapsuckers
- owls, most likely barn or screech
- wrens
Birds that use nesting shelves instead of boxes include phoebes, American robins and barn swallows.
To build a bird house for a specific bird, check exactly what measurements the house will need to be. Birds need to have enough room to raise their young, and a box that is too small or too big can make them decide against nesting in your yard. You will have to research what will attract your chosen birds and then build and paint your box to those specifications.
Watch out for predators that may hunt your birds, or interlopers that will move into your bird house before your desired bird has a chance to find it and prepare it. For example, sparrows will move into a purple martin house and take it over or even evict the current residents. Cats and squirrels will watch a bird house and make plans for stealing eggs and killing birds. A good way to prevent this is to put a bell collar on your cat and squirrel-proof your bird house. You can buy plastic or metal covers for the bird house entrances to prevent squirrels from moving in and causing havoc among your avian tenants.
If none of the birds in your area nest in bird houses and you live in a cold climate, you can build a roosting box to provide shelter for wintering birds. This will ensure that you can birdwatch all year round.
