Birdhouses - What Birds Look For in Real Estate

Category: Xeriscaping, Grow Lawnless, Butterfly and Habitat Gardens | Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 11:41 pm

Natural nesting places are disappearing with development and the cutting down of trees. There aren't many trees with holes for the birds to move into. Creating safe and comfy nesting areas will help the wild bird population to survive.

Here is a guide for anyone who is building their own birdhouses, so that the hole sizes and house are what your bird friends need for nesting and safety.

Just Say No to perches- many birdhouses we purchase have perches. I read that perches are not necessary and are actually undesirable. I think it became a decorative thing and i certainly thought they all had one because they should.

I learned that perches encourage predators by allowing bigger birds to sit on the perch, and reach their heads into the house of a small bird. The birds who own the house don't need the perch, they are amazingly accurate at flying into holes. So if you're making a house not just for decorative use, you can skip that part. I also heard that wrens are so territorial, they don't mind pecking the eggs in houses of other birds nearby.

The diameter hole sizes for certain birds:

Caveat: We've all had birds nesting in some of the most bizarre and unlikely places - in holes apparently not their "preferred" size. But here are the suggested diameters

Bluebird, Carolina Wren,Swallow,
and Hairy Woodpecker: 1 1/2"
Chickadee 1 1/8"
Titmouse, Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker: 1 1/4"
Flycatcher and Woodpecker 2"

Barn Swallows and robins prefer homes with open sides, not one entrance hole.

Last edited: Sat Jul 05, 2008 1:14 am

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Frank wrote on Sat Jul 05, 2008 1:35 pm:

Never heard that about the perches Mary but I would agree. If a perch was always needed than I fail to see how birds have been able to get by in their natural environment up until now :)

Droopy wrote on Sat Jul 05, 2008 4:15 pm:

My mother told me about the perches when I was little, when I came home from school with my first self-made bird house and was sorry for not having managed to fix a perch.

A black-and-white fly catcher moved into my bird house and they stayed until the place blew apart one very stormy autumn. We never got round to replacing it because of all the cats in the neighbourhood.

southernbelle wrote on Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:38 am:

Well around here bird houses are shared with wasps or bees!!and that is not a good thing for me!!

mary02 wrote on Sun Jul 06, 2008 8:45 pm:

hi southernbelle! i looked up natural remedies for bees and it seems that one that's mentioned frequently, and that works and doesn't require much work is to rub all the seams on the insides of your empty birdhouses or when you clean them(ones bees aren't in yet) with bar soap like Dove. Especially the peak and top side grooves. wasps can't build a nest on the waxy residue, so they won't want to be there.

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