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Our fine feathered friends surely appreciate it when they find a house for them in our back yards. This house can be a place for a wild bird to build a nest and raise its young,or it can be a bird house filled with feed for its little tummy.
Whatever the reason you want to make a birdhouse for, you can make one or more out of simple materials found around your house. One design is made with an empty paper milk carton. The half gallon size is big enough, not the individual size. Open the top of the carton all of the way up, and wash it out completely. Do not use strong household cleaners. A drop of dishwashing detergent works well. Be sure to rinse it out well and then let it air dry completely.After the milk carton has dried, staple the top back together closed. Cut a round hole in the front of the carton with a utility knife. Make the hole big enough so that a robin, for example, can get in and out with ease, but make it small enough so that a bigger bird can not get in it and steal the food or chase the smaller bird out of it. The hole should be about three inches in diameter. Also, cut a smaller hole below the larger one so that you can insert a wooden dowel in it. This will make a good perch for your feathered freinds. You can now cover the entire milk carton with several twigs,thin pieces of bark, or anything you want that will help to protect the carton house. Attach ahanger on the top and hang the birdhouse on a high tree branch or on a tall pole in your back yard. Note: Make sure the pole is thin and metal, or made of other similiar material. Wooden poles are not good to use as they allow squirrels and cats to climb them and either steal the food or worse yet, eat the birds inside! The pole or tree branch needs to be about ten feet above the ground too.
A variation of this design is to cut out squares from a second paper milk carton. Make sure the squares fit over the top of the birdhouse, one on each side. The squares should extend out so they provide an overhang for the top. Attach the squares and then cover the birdhouse as you desire.
Another easy design for a birdhouse is to use a large, dried out gourd. The gourd needs to have a hole drilled in the side of it, and it needs to be cleaned out well. Again, make sure the hole you cut out is large enough so that the birds can easily enter and exit their new house. You can then drill a second,smaller hole below the larger hole in order to put a dowel in it to serve as a perch. You can then paint or decorate the birdhouse or leave it as is for a natural looking house. Attach a hanger to the top of the gourd by using a screw and a long piece of wire. Clsoe the wire together and fasten it into a circle. Wrap a portion of the wire around the screw securely and then turn the screw into the top of the gourd until it is tightened. Hang the gourd house ona high tree branch or on a pole.
You can also hang any of these birdhouses outside a window so you and your family can watch the birds. You will be amazed at how many types you will see!
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