Building A Birdhouse: Do’s and Don’ts Before You Start

Building a birdhouse is a very good activity. It provides an outlet for your bird watching interests and allows you to create something meaningful. You can spend some time honing your woodworking skills and the end result will reflect your effort and make a great place for birds for breeding & nesting. Many birdhouses are composed of wood and concreted, but this can vary. It all depends on the birdhouse woodworking plans. Make sure to look at some of them (available online), before starting with your project.

Common practices for building a birdhouse:

Conventionally birdhouses are built with sloping roof. While some are just plain roofs others feature a hinge, allowing the top to be removed. This comes in handy when the inhabitants of the birdhouse fly away and you try cleaning it out. Usually breeders also feature a convenient little opening which is commonly used to feed the young ones. Keeping a hole/open front in the birdhouse woodworking plans is a very famous practice. Often the end results start resembling our homes & apartments.

Many enthusiasts are known to create birdhouses with a gourd. While there are many things which could be used to make up a birdhouse, people usually go for wood. Either way it’s your choice, for you are the creator.

Building the ideal birdhouse:

Although birdhouses come in many shapes and sizes, there are certain things you need to include in your birdhouse woodworking plans. For starters, a birdhouse needs a lot of space along with sufficient ventilation to give the birds comfort and easy access to the residence. Furthermore, it should be easily accessible, so that when you have to clean it out, you don’t face any issues. You should be able to access all areas of the birdhouse without any hindrance.

Furthermore, the birdhouse should be located in such an opening which will allow you to easily monitor the birds’ activity. It will help you study the behavior of the species of bird. Furthermore you should give the birds enough space inside the birdhouse, so they could easily move inside the house. Make sure that you provide enough space for the birds you want to attract.

Although many people use various materials for building a birdhouse, the popular choice is wood. The best kinds of wood are rough-cut and redwood, for their condition doesn’t deteriorate even when exposed to the harshest weather conditions. Moreover, it provides superior insulation to the interior, allowing birds to take refuge from the heat/cold.

Similarly, many woodworkers include regular application of copper-arsenate chemical for the pressure treated lumber. Do ascertain that it is done properly; otherwise it will be harmful for the birds.
Last but not the least; try to make the birdhouse blend-in with the environment. Make it a part of the surroundings. You could put it up on a tree or even the fence. Just make sure that you provide enough protection from the predators. For this purpose, sheet metal or aluminum could be employed. But it all depends on you. Come up with detailed birdhouse woodworking plans and provide safety to the birds.