Provide a Home for Birds!
Bird Houses, Nest Boxes, and Nesting Platforms
Many of the birds that you will see at your backyard
feeder will not nest in a bird house or nest box.
You can still help these birds by planning your
landscaping with their nesting needs in mind.
Birds that will use nest boxes
Properly designed nest boxes will
likely attract birds to nest in your yard. Review
the information provided below about the preferred
habitat of each species and try a nest box for the
species most likely to be attracted to the type of
habitat your backyard provides.
See a list of bird houses by Species at A Birds World.
Buy Bird Houses at ABirdsWorld.com!
Bluebirds: To successfully attract
bluebirds, their houses should be placed near an open
area such as a field, orchard, park, cemetery, or golf
course. They prefer nest boxes on a tree
stump or fence post between three and five feet high.
The entrance hole should be 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
Either mount the house on a metal pole or install a
predator guard on a wood post to deter predators such as
snakes and raccoons.
Robins: Robins prefer to build their
nests in the crotch of a tree, but they will also use
manmade nesting platforms. Platforms are a good
option if you have a new yard that lacks mature trees
and shrubs. Place your platform six feet or higher
up on a shaded tree trunk or under the overhang of a
shed or porch.
Chickadees, nuthatches and titmice: Put
chickadee houses at eye level, on a tree trunk.
The entrance hole should be 1 1/8 inches in size to
attract chickadees and exclude house sparrows.
Nuthatch houses should be mounted on tree trunks five to
six feet from the ground.
Wrens: Wrens are not very picky about
where they nest. A nest box with a 1 inch by 2
inch horizontal slot instead of hole is suggested for
wrens. Male house wrens build several nests for
the female to choose from, so you may want to hang
several nest boxes for wrens in your yard.
Brown Creepers and Prothonotary Warblers:
In heavily wooded yards, slab bark houses may appeal to
brown creepers, which naturally nest behind the curved
bark of tree trunks. Prothonotary warblers also
like slab bark houses, or bluebird houses attached to a
tree trunk, but theirs must be placed over water (lakes,
rivers or swamps) with a good canopy of trees overhead.
Tree Swallows: Tree swallows prefer nest
boxes attached to dead trees. Space the boxes
seven feet apart. The best location for these nest
boxes is on the edge of large field near a lake, pond or
river.
Violet Green Swallows: Violet-green
swallows nest in the forested mountains of the west.
Nest boxes placed on large trees in a partially open
woodland will attract these birds.
Barn Swallows and Phoebes: You can
encourage these birds to nest on your property with a
nesting shelf on an open barn or old shed.
Purple Martins: The best location for a
martin house is on the edge of a pond or river,
surrounded by a field or lawn. Martins need an
unobstructed flying radius of about 40 feet around their
houses. Martins nest in groups, therefore a martin
house should have at least four large rooms.
Entrance holes should be 2 1/2 inches in size.
Martin houses are elevated on poles 10 to 20 feet of the
ground.
Flycatchers: The great crested
flycatcher and its western cousin, the ash-throated
flycatcher, are common in wooded suburbs and in rural
areas with woodlots. Their natural nesting site is
abandoned woodpecker holes. Flycatchers may nest
in nest boxes placed about 10 feet high in a tree in an
orchard or at the edge of a field or stream.
Woodpeckers: Only flickers are likely to
use nest boxes. Flickers prefer a nest box with a
roughened interior and a floor covered with a two
inch thick layer of wood chips or coarse sawdust.
Locate the box high up on a tree trunk, exposed to
direct sunlight.
Click here for a table of
recommended nest box dimensions by species
Tips for Selecting Bird Houses
Inspecting Nest Boxes
You should check on your nest boxes periodically -
once a week is good. Check the box for
unwanted inhabitants such as squirrels, mice, snakes,
and insects. Here is a good way to perform a nest
box check: Watch the nest box for 20 - 30 minutes.
If you don't see or hear any birds near the box, go over
and tap on the box. If you hear bird sounds, open
the top and take a quick look inside. If
everything is all right, close the box. If you
find parasites or predators, remove them and close the
box.
Top opening nest boxes provide the easiest access for
checking on birds without disturbing the nest.
Sometimes nestlings will jump out of the box when you
open a side or front opening box. If a baby bird
jumps out of the nest, pick the bird up and put it back
in the nest. It is a myth that adults will reject
a nestling that has been handled by humans.
Cleaning out your nest boxes after each brood has
fledged may encourage other pairs to use the same box.
Leaving your nest boxes out over the winter provides a
shelter for birds during the cold months. Each
spring, thoroughly clean out any nest boxes that have
been left out for the winter.
