Bird Houses & Feeders to Build

Wooden Birdhouses

• When you think of a birdhouse, you probably think of a wooden house with a peaked roof, similar to something you make in woodshop in school. This is indeed one version of a wooden birdhouse. However, there is a variety of other wooden birdhouse styles. The type and size of the bird you wish to attract effects the type of house you need. For example, a barn owl needs a larger house, while starlings need smaller houses. Purple martin houses have several compartments in them, similar to a birdie apartment building. Websites, such as Andy's Free Bird House Plans (freebirdhouseplans.net) offer an array of wooden plans to choose from to match your specific bird needs.

Gourd Birdhouses

• Gourd birdhouses are appropriate for different types of birds including purple martins, wrens and robins. To create one, clean the outside of a dried kettle gourd of your choice. Cut a hole in the side of the gourd for the entrances and scrape out the seeds and fibers inside. Drill holes for drainage in the bottom and holes in the neck to hang the finished gourd. The size hole you drill into the side of gourd determines what type of bird will use the house.

Crafty Birdhouses and Feeders

• Other items around your home, such as a metal coffee can or a paper milk carton, make crafty birdhouses and feeders. These recyclable items find new life after cleaning them and cutting entrance holes. For a coffee can, the entrance hole goes in the plastic lid. Eye screws drilled into the side of the can enable you to hang it from a tree. The milk carton hangs upright with a hole in the side. Add a perch to either house by punching a hole under the entrance and inserting a dowel rod. If the completed project is for a bird feeder, fill the inside with your choice of seed.

PVC Feeder

• Tube feeders take up little space in your garden. Creating one requires little more than a piece of PVC pipe, a pipe cap to hold the seed in at the bottom, dowel rods and some twine. Once you have drilled holes in the sides of the pipe for the birds to feed through and added perches below each feeding spot, fill the tube with birdseed and hang your feeder from a tree branch.

Hummingbird Feeders

• Hummingbirds eat nectar instead of seeds. To make your own feeder, use a plastic sports drink bottle and the lid a mayonnaise jar. By poking holes in the sports bottle lid and gluing it to the inside of the mayonnaise jar lid, you create a constant feeder for the birds. Fill the bottle with hummingbird nectar found at garden supply stores or make your own using water, sugar and food coloring.