Archive for the ‘Birdhouses/Bird Feeders’ Category

Attracting Wild Birds in Your Backyard

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Have you ever considered buying a bird feeder to attract wild birds in your backyard? How much are you willing to pay for it? $30? $50? More? Can you imagine that for $50 you could potentially build ten or even more bird feeders? Just think about the number of birds you can actually charm with ten bird feeders rather than just one.

There are numerous great and impressive yard bird feeder products available today. However to tell the truth, birds basically care about the food or the bird feeder itself, not the wrapper.

While creating a bird feeding location, you could invest hundreds of dollars for some bird feeders, birdbaths, and birdhouses. Creating your own bird feeders, birdbaths, birdhouses, as well as bird foods will save you lots of money. You may also build a big bird feeding station that will attract a lot more wild birds.

I have treasured bird watching in my backyard or in the wild for quite some time. My first bird feeder was of an Opus design. This plastic-type lantern molded bird feeder sat on a hollow, steel pole that stuck in the ground. It was not long before squirrels had chewed on one side, doing deadly damage to my feeder.

Given that I wanted to attract lots of wild birds I would buy cheap bird feeders. Silly me! Most of them were destroyed by wild animals.

I finally decided to build my own bird feeders. I was not very pleased with my first do-it-yourself bird feeder project. It was a log type bird feeder and after I completed my project, I was thinking that it did not really appear to be a bird feeder. I was wondering what kind of birds this feeder was going to appeal to. I put it up in my backyard and, I’m happy to report that within half an hour I was watching my first visitor feeding, a cardinal. Wow! I was very thrilled.

From that day, I have built many different types of bird feeders from high quality woodworking plans and I have to say that I am very satisfied with my end products as well as my wild bird watching. But I will never forget that first visitor feeding from my not so good looking bird feeder I had just made. It was just awesome!

For great results with any of your woodworking projects remember to always use high quality woodworking plans.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Birdhouses/Bird Feeders | No Comments »

Great Looking Birdhouses Right in Your Backyard!

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Most bird lovers take pleasure in installing birdhouses and bird feeders to attract birds in their backyard. You can either buy birdhouses and bird feeders or build your own ones.

The kind of birds you want to attract will determine the size of birdhouses you will either build or purchase. One particular miscalculation many individuals make in building their own birdhouses is making the access hole too big. The entrance hole of any birdhouses should be large enough to allow the birds to get inside. When you make it too large, you will be dismayed in who comes to create housing in your new birdhouses. It might attract different kinds of animals such as squirrels or snakes.

If you prefer particular kinds of birds to adopt residence in your birdhouses, you need to do some research to help you find out how to best accommodate your target bird, and build your birdhouses consequently. Look into bird books or do a research online to get the appropriate birdhouses measurements to match your kind of birds. Birds are usually picky when selecting a house. Generally, if the birdhouse access entrance is either too big or too tiny, they are going to look somewhere else.

Any kind of birdhouse must have adequate openings with regard to air flow and water drainage. Air holes are required to guarantee the birdhouses will not get too warm for younger birds during the summer time. Water flow openings are essential to avoid baby birds from drowning in water which may have pooled inside the birdhouse after rainfalls.

In addition, to truly take pleasure in your new tenants, the birdhouses you build require to be designed for easy access for cleaning up and maintenance intentions. Hinged bottoms or side panels serve this point very well. You will have to ensure that your birdhouses remain clean and clear of undesirable guests, such as bees or other small animals and insects.

Use non-toxic materials and paint for your birdhouses to ensure the safety of the birds. Your design should be solid enough to offer protection from the weather elements.

It is not necessary to include a perch to the outside of your birdhouses since you do not wish to attract predators to come visit. Perches present an easy access for squirrels and other small creatures to reach in birdhouses and bother the baby birds. Birds definitely don’t necessitate birdhouses perches, but prefer to land on the opening instead.

There is absolutely no set time to put up your birdhouses. Birds are usually in search of a location to build their nests towards the end of winter and beginning of spring, but you will be able to attract them year round in your birdhouses. It’s actually a wise idea to place your birdhouses facing away from the northern wind, and ensure that they are close to a tree.

If you choose to buy a birdhouse rather than building your own, make sure it is made out of safe materials, is constructed properly and that you will be able to easily maintain it.

If you decide to build your own birdhouse, get good quality woodworking plans that include a list of all the required tools and materials needed to complete the project.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Birdhouses/Bird Feeders | No Comments »