Spring is finally springing around here! Some spots in and around Spokane, WA had nearly 6" of snow last week. It was a record winter for snow - hardly much time to think about birds. The snow + the day job kept me way too busy. Now we're embarking down Divorce Road (remodeling our house).... Actually, we're handling it pretty well - but, now's time to focus on my favorite critters; Birds!
We’re all pretty keen on birds. After all, they fly! We can’t get up from the computer and fly across the room, our yard, or anywhere – without dire consequences. We don’t have feathers, we’re too heavy and there aren’t enough stout branches to keep us all in trees. But, we can at least admire birds from afar - or from a nearby location. Feeders near a window work great (if care is taken to prevent bird strikes against the window). The more one gets to see birds in action the more deeply we fall into a feathered romance. We’re hooked and we’re in awe of the little critters. Somewhere in our deepening bird fascination we decide to put up birdhouses – to have our flying friends call our own yard home. Providing homes for wild creatures is like establishing our own national park – our own respite from the cruel world these creatures might face without our help. A bird sanctuary!
These are a few of the thoughts and feelings I had as I put up one of my first home built birdhouse – the Super Easy Birdhouse from plans in The Complete Birdhouse Book by Donald and Lillian Stokes. It is fairly easy to make and incorporates all the standard "musts" for birdhouses – (listed later). It was only a matter of minutes after mounting my newly made home to a post that both Tree Swallows and Violet-green Swallows were checking it out – landing on the front with their feet grasping the lower edge of the entry hole and peeking inside. This went on for up to an hour before one bird finally took the plunge and ventured inside. Yipee! Rather than bothering the birds I left the location and ventured back later to see another swallow, or the same one, enter the birdhouse again. What a great feeling – making a birdhouse one day and having birds in it the next! The following morning I checked the birdhouse again. As I approached I heard flapping inside. They’re scaring me away. Later in the day – same experience. I left the birdhouse alone until the next day. Same experience; I came near, they flapped. This time I left the birdhouse alone for two days. When I came near, no flapping. I tapped the front of the birdhouse – no flapping. Darn, I must have scared them away with my constant curiosity. I opened up the birdhouse and found two dead Violet-green swallows inside.
I was crushed. My bird sanctuary morphed painfully into a bird morgue. What had I done?! I instantly took the birdhouse down, collected by scientific wits and determined that these doomed critters must not have been able to get out. Their flapping was not a scare tactic but an attempt at escaping from my newly made pine coffin. The interior was two narrow for them to spread their wings sufficiently and the wood too smooth for them to climb to the entry hole. I had just killed two birds. Sanctuary to Valdeez by my own hands!
Back to the book I went – cover to cover – finding a section on Special Features of Duck Housing (ducks in nest boxes??? another story in itself) which states .... "young ducks have to climb to the entrance to jump out. To be able to do this, they need a rough surface inside the front of the nest box that they can grab onto." I had tragically stumbled upon a fly in the ointment. From what I have learned in my dozen or more years of making birdhouses is that there are only 2 species of birds that can get trapped in basic, ‘properly’ constructed birdhouses: Violet-green and Tree Swallows. Remedy; in each and every birdhouse I make that swallows can get into I provide some sort of climb out feature on the inside under the entry hole. I’ve used wire, strips of scrap wood, beaver chewed branch sections, routed grooves, etc. All with complete success – no dead swallows. Sadly, this feature is still not widely added to most birdhouses being made. In defense of the Stokes – swallows can get trapped in birdhouses – that does not mean that they will get trapped. My wood was just too smooth and swallows are not kangaroos. Violet-green swallows are a west coast species – not found where the Stokes live. I found out whether or not my experience was a fluke by checking an entire mile of bluebird boxes placed along the road near Bickleton, Washington. All of these birdhouses were made of smooth painted wood. 50% of them had dead swallows in them. None had climb outs on the inside. Less than 20% of the birdhouses had active Western Bluebird nests. From my observation these birdhouses were not being monitored. Another good intention with not so good results.
Long story short.... I now make birdhouses as a spare time business just waiting for the opportunity to go full time. My birdhouses no longer follow plans from others and are all self designed for specific North American cavity nesting bird species. I’ve gotten a little carried away on the design end – you’ll see if you visit my website fowlplaces.com.
Links of interest:
North American Bluebird Society Nestbox Specifications:
http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/...
Birdhouse Dimensions:
http://www.birdwatching-bliss.com/...
My basic birdhouse standards
No perch
Adequate drainage in the floor
Adequate ventilation in upper walls and/or roof
Inside entry hole climbout
No tool method of opening birdhouse while mounted
Screws used for construction in predrilled holes
No paints nor stains applied to interiors
Metal entry hole surrounding