Nature Crafts

For the Birds

By editor ⋅ June 1, 2007 ⋅ Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

It’s not too late to set out a bird box in your backyard.  Although the chickadees, wrens, sparrows and tree swallows (shown at left) that took up residence in my tree boxes this spring are busy feeding babies now, I know from previous years that many backyard birds will raise two families over the spring and summer, so you still have lots of time to build a bird box and put out the Vacancy sign.

We have several craft projects and articles to help you out - from a whimsical,  recycled coffee can bird box, to our basic wooden bird box plan, chosen as a feature on Wikihow.com.  Be sure to also check out How to Make the Right Birdhouse, which gives you important information on the size of the hole required for different bird species, as well as the optimum height from the ground and other specifications.

Along with sheltered nesting places (think trees!) and bird boxes, you’ll want to offer a ready source of food and water for the birds visiting your garden.   Gold and red finches, as well as chickadees, sparrows and the occasional indigo bunting, enjoy the nyger seed which fills this milk carton bird feeder, while ruby-throated hummingbirds are a constant delight once they discover a steady supply of homemade hummingbird food.  Brilliant orange orioles are also easy to entice with this simple homemade oriole food recipe.

A clean water supply is vital to birds during the hot summer months, both for drinking and bathing.  You can make a simple bird bath from almost any shallow dish filled with water and either placed on your lawn, suspended from a tree branch, or elevated from the ground in some fashion. 

Adding a running water feature to your backyard, I’ve found, is an excellent way to attract all kinds of birds.  Although I installed a larger garden pond and waterfall last year, before that I had two half-barrel water ponds, one of which had a preformed waterfall, while the other had water trickling from an antique pump that was retro-fitted with hose leading from a small circulating water pump.  Each of these black plastic water barrel ponds housed gold fish, supported a water lily and other pond plants, and attracted birds by the dozen, not to mention the mosquito-eating toads that took up a waterfront residence.  You can see a couple of pictures of my little ponds in this article on Creating a Water Fountain feature.  Specific instructions on how to make these smaller water ponds is on my ”To Do” list…and coming soon!