BIRDS YOU CAN ATTRACT TO BIRDHOUSES .

Many of the birds that visit feeders and baths may stay and nest in nearby trees. Most of them, including cardinals, doves and orioles, don't nest in boxes. You can still help them by considering their food and shelter requirements in your landscape plans. You can also hang out a wire cage full of nesting materials (fiber scraps, twigs, wool, or feathers) in the spring.More than two dozen North American birds will nest in bird houses. The following descriptions will help you determine which birds might visit your neighborhood. 

Bluebirds   

If you put up a bluebird birdhouse near an old field, orchard, park, cemetery, or golf course, you'll have a good chance of attracting a pair of bluebirds. They prefer nest boxes on a tree stump or wooden fence post between three and five feet high. Bluebirds also nest in abandoned woodpecker nest holes. The most important measurement is the hole diameter. An inch and a half is small enough to deter starlings. Starlings and house sparrows have been known to kill baby bluebirds as well as adults sitting on the nest.

Bluebirds have problems with other animals too. The easiest way to discourage predatory cats, snakes, raccoons, and chipmunks is to mount the house on a metal pole, or use a metal predator guard on a wood post. 

Robins

Robins are our largest thrushes. They prefer to build their nest in the crotch of a tree. If you don't have an appropriate tree, you can offer a nesting platform or bird houses. Pick a spot six feet or higher up on a shaded tree trunk or under the overhang of a shed or porch. Creating a "mud puddle" nearby offers further excitement as robins use mud to line their nests. 

Chickadees, Nuthatches, and Titmice

Chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches share the same food, feeders, and habitats. If you put a properly designed the nest box in a wooded yard, at least one pair is sure to check it out.

Put chickadee birdhouses at eye level. Hang them from limbs or secure them to tree trunks. The entrance hole should be 1-1/8" to attract chickadees yet exclude house sparrows. Anchor the birdhouses for hatches on tree trunks five to six feet off the ground.  You can encourage these birds to stay in your yard by continuing to fill your suet and peanut feeders through the summer. 

Wrens

Wrens don't seem to be very picky about where they nest. Try birdhouses with a 1" x 2" horizontal slot (1-1/2" x 2-1/2" for the larger Carolina wrens) instead of a circle. These are easier for the wrens to use.

Wrens are notorious for filling up any conceivable nest cavity with twigs, regardless of whether they use the nest. Since male house wrens build several nests for the female to choose from, hang several wren birdhouses at eye level on partly sunlit tree limbs. Wrens are sociable and will accept nest boxes quite close to your house.

Visit www.aboutbirdhouse.com to check on many great birdhouses for your yard.

Bluebird Birdhouses

Blue Birds Birdhouses

A Bluebird belongs to a group of brightly colored thrushes related to the Robin and native to North America. Bluebirds live in open country that contains scattered trees, usually in old farmlands or orchards. They nest in tree holes or man birdhouses which they line with fine grass.

The female Bluebird lays three to seven pale blue or white eggs at a time and may have two or three broods a year. Both parents care for their young that remain in the bluebird birdhouse for 15 – 19 days. Bluebirds feed on caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers and many other insects that may be harmful to crops. When insects are not available in large numbers during winter, Bluebirds eat berries.

Providing water in the form of birdbaths encourages Bluebirds to stick around the backyard. They are quite partial to the sound of dripping water and have no specific preference whether it is a commercial dripper or a self-provided water device. Providing suitable birdhouses will convince them to stay and nest.

                                                                                                                                       

Check out our birdhouses at www.aboutbirdhouses.com.

About The House Wren

About The House Wren

The House Wren is one of the most popular songbirds in North America. It is so named for its preference for small town and suburban backyards and man-made birdhouses. It is a small brown bird with long pointed bill. Its head, nape and back are uniformly brown with dark brown stripes. Its throat and chest are light grey. It has a white eyebrow-like stripe over the eyes. Both sexes are identical in color but the male is slightly larger.

The House Wren Nesting Preferences

House Wrens prefer to nest in cavities close to the ground with small entrances. The male begins building the nest by placing more than 400 sticks into the bottom of the cavity. When a female pairs with the male, she finishes building the nest. The nest is constructed out of twigs, sticks, and leaves. It is then lined with soft fibers and feathers arranged in a circular fashion. As many as 6 to 7 glossy pinkish eggs are laid and incubated by the female for about 12 days. The young leave the nest after 15 or 17 days within a few hours of each other. The parents continue to feed the young for another two weeks.

Building a Birdhouse For The House Wren

House Wrens readily accept birdhouses between 5 to 10 feet above the ground close to shrubby areas or under the eaves of buildings, along fencerows or in large trees. The birdhouse can also be left free hanging. It should be about 4 inches in width x 4 inches in length x 6 inches in height. The entrance hole should be 1 ¼ inch in diameter to keep English sparrows out. It should be located 4-7 inches above the floor.

The House Wren Mating Habits

During breeding season, the male flutters through the air slowly and sing to attract females. A male who finds a mate often sing a “whispering” song often sung only around the time of copulation. The song is sung quietly may be to avoid revealing the location of his fertile mate to other males. The female also sings in response to her mate’s song. House Wrens are usually monogamous but the male may have more than one mate at a time. They switch breeding partners between the first and second brood of a season. Breeding pairs last only for one season.

The House Wren Feeding Preferences

House Wren feed mainly on small, terrestrial insects like caterpillars, flies, spiders, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, moths and other crawling insects.  Adults who feed their young supplement their own diet with calcium-rich foods such as mollusk shells. They glean insects from leaves and shrubs.

Interesting House Wren Facts

The House Wren is also known as Common Wren. They hop mostly while on the ground. Male House Wrens flying to the North to breed in their first year more often than not settle close to an experienced male. The latter tend to settle farther apart. Young males gather clues from established males about areas that are good nesting sites. The House Wren has the habit of puncturing eggs of other species nesting in nest boxes. At times, it seizes other birds’ nests to breed but does not share its territory with others of its kind. It even vigorously challenges intruders near its nest. House Wrens are one of the easiest birds to attract to birdhouses in urban areas.  Obtain additional information on birdhouses for Wrens at www.aboutbirdhouses.com.

Blue birds

    

A Bluebird belongs to a group of brightly colored thrushes related to the Robin and native to North America. Bluebirds live in open country that contains scattered trees, usually in old farmlands or orchards. They nest in tree holes or man boxes which they line with fine grass.

The female Bluebird lays three to seven pale blue or white eggs at a time and may have two or three broods a year. Both parents care for their young that remain in the nest for 15 – 19 days. Bluebirds feed on caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers and many other insects that may be harmful to crops. When insects are not available in large numbers during winter, Bluebirds eat berries.

Providing water in the form of birdbaths encourages Bluebirds to stick around the backyard. They are quite partial to the sound of dripping water and have no specific preference whether it is a commercial dripper or a self-provided water device. A suitable birdhouse will convince them to stay and nest.

Check out our birdhouses at www.aboutbirdhouses.com.