Sure It's Summer, But Bird Lovers Should Still Think About Bird Houses

It's early summer and most birds are moving out of the bird and nesting houses they used this spring. So, why should bird gardeners care about bird houses now? Actually, there are a lot of reasons for bird lovers to think about bird houses this time of the years.

Along with nesting, birds use houses and boxes year round for for nightly roosting, including the summer. And while many birds settle down in the spring, nesting areas should be created in the late summer, fall and winter so that birds are used to them before they move in the following spring. Like people, most birds take their time finding the perfect home.

Unfortunately many distributors and merchants consider bird houses to be a seasonal item, so finding quality items in the fall or winter can be difficult.

Whether you prefer to buy bird houses and nesting boxes for specific species, build them yourself, or simply like using them to decorate your landscape, there are some important things serious bird lovers should think about, some of which are discussed in this article.

General Information

Ideally, bird houses should be mounted at least three feet above ground, but not much higher than ten feet. You can mount them on posts, in trees or just about anywhere they will not be regularly disturbed by humans or predatory animals.

While some bird houses are designed to hang from branches or hardware, these generally are best for decorative purposes. While the gentle swaying of trees is fine, a house that swings wildly in the wind won't be viewed as a safe or relaxing home by most birds.

Ventilation and Drainage Holes

Make sure any nesting box/house has holes on the sides for ventilation and on the bottom for drainage.Most non-decorative boxes will have these already, but you can drill holes in most wooden or even metal boxes easily enough.

Bird house Materials and Finishes

Wooden boxes are preferable to those made of ceramic or metal. Metal in particular has a tendency to hold excess heat that can harm eggs.

While more expensive, redwood or cedar boxes last longer much longer than those made of pine, plywood or other composite wood materials. Many experts also think that birds are attracted to the natural smell of cedar. Since cedar's a tree, this makes sense.

Pine is a cost-effective option, but untreated pine will rot within a couple of years; in certain environments untreated pine boxes will rot even sooner. You can prolong the life of pine bird houses by applying a coat of linseed oil.

Low VOC polyurethane or other non-toxic coatings also can be used on the exterior of the bird house. It's never a good idea put anything on the inside of a bird house.

Just make sure that any chemical smell is long gone before you place the boxes outdoors. Odors not only will drive birds away, many can cause short- or long-term physical harm. Until just a few years ago, many experts thought birds had a poor sense of smell. While it is true that birds' keenest senses are sight and hearing, they also have a well-developed sense of smell.

Can You Have Too Many Bird houses?

It depends on whether your intention is to attract birds or to use them as decorations. Like people, birds do like their space, so lots of nesting boxes in close proximity to each other won't make great homes.

But, several nesting boxes spread out about 20 feet apart isn't too many.You'll often find that all of your boxes aren't used every year. Even so, the more boxes you have and the more sizes and styles of houses you offer will increase the chance for a variety of birds in your gardens.

You should place the boxes in different types of locations such as: branches of mature, thick trees; plain posts; or secluded walls of sheds or other buildings.

By varying the height and general habitat of the bird houses, more birds will be tempted to make your backyard their home.

A House is Not a Home...

Bird houses alone won't attract birds to your yard. A productive bird garden combines many elements, including plants, tree, sources of food and water.

As you add plants and other features to your garden this summer, remember that while the most popular bird house colors are natural wood or other muted colors found in nature, most birds love color.

Most species are strongly attracted to bright colors found in nature. Red flowers, yard ornaments, birdbaths and feeders attract many species because so wild berries and fruits are red. Other birds are attracted to the colors found in healthy plumage of potential mates.;

An exception to the color rule: shy birds tend to dislike strong colors. If you want to attract species such as doves or quail, remember that they prefer the muted natural colors found in camouflage: tans, subdued greens and browns.

One color that bird lovers should avoid using too much of is white. Birds view an abundance of white as a sign of danger and will stay clear of garden or landscape where white is the predominant color.

Understanding the many elements that make up a welcoming bird habitat is a bit more complicated than you might think. It's not brain surgery, but there are some things that definitely encourage the species you want and discourage species and other animals you don't like. But, that's a subject for another article.

The following source was reviewed when writing this article:

Stokes, Donald, and Lillian Stokes. The Bird Feeder Book: An Easy Guide to Attracting, Identifying and Understanding Your Feeder Birds. Boston, Toronto, and London: Little, Brown and Company, 1987.

AM McElroy has over 20 years experience in corporate communications, technical writing and marketing/sales within the banking, civil/environmental engineering, high-tech and natural sciences (physics) arenas.

She has two e-commerce sites, http://www.SolarFlairLighting.com and http://www.BirdsandWaterGardening.com.

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