Birdhouse description

[WV Sawmiller]

   I make a few rough birdhouses to sell at local flea markets and for use here around my home. It is fun and a great use of scrap material. Since I do not have the precision woodworking skills many of you guys here have I decided to include the following details about my birdhouses to see if it helps me sell some more. We will see if this helps with my sales. :D

Spirit of WV Birdhouses/Nesting Boxes

              These rugged birdhouses/nesting boxes are made from native trees from the local area that have been sawed into lumber in Summers County near Hinton WV. Each is custom fitted and no two are ever truly the same as native WV birds are like the rest of us – independent, individualistic and free-thinking. The size of the entrance hole and nesting cavity matches perfectly with the desires of our Eastern Bluebirds although other native, and some invasive, birds find them attractive. I have one such box that raised two clutches (10 eggs/chicks total) last season that has now been rented by a family of purple martins. I try to be an equal opportunity landlord. The tops are designed for easy removal for end of season cleaning and removal of old nests as it is proven new occupants prefer to bring their own furniture when establishing a new home. The extended back allows you to mount the birdhouse on a convenient pole, post or tree. Be careful in placement of such birdhouses to make it more difficult for climbing snakes, raccoons, etc. from accessing them.

              The rough sawed, unpainted lumber of these houses attract our native, hardworking WV songbirds much better than cookie-cutter, pre-fab, precision cut, kits with fancy trim, front porches, TV antennas, cable boxes and HOA approved color schemes and construction. Such decorative birdhouses can be found in the local area but a soon to be proven fact remains that such kits tend to attract more "urban" residents like English sparrows, starlings and such outsiders rather than our hard-working, individualistic rural native birds. You can readily note the difference – the urban birds are the ones you find at the area birdfeeders waiting on a hand-out rather than our local/rural birds who prefer to work for their meal – a tasty grasshopper, nightcrawler, beetle or gpsy moth.

   Be very careful in your placement of these birdhouses as once occupied the residents are often very aggressive about protecting their family, home and property rights. They have been known to attack homeowners, larger birds, domestic pets, native predatory mammals, livestock, meter readers, census takers, Latter Day Saints, ATF/IRS agents, and other government officials and riff-raff.

              You may wonder about the lack of a perch at the front entrance. This is by design. Studies have proven such perches are often used by predator birds trying to steal the eggs or attack the newly hatched chicks. They also attract telemarketers with non-native language skills, insurance salesmen, birds offering extended warranties on the resident's vehicles, and discounted rates on their credit cards.



 

[Daburner87]

I got a pretty good laugh out of it.    Can we get some close up shots of the birdhouses?  Where would these details be printed for potential customers to read?   It's a great description, but a bit long for customers simply passing by.  Unless you have a really nice sign that can be easily read from 6ft + away.  

[WV Sawmiller]

   I will probably staple it to the end or side of a raised planter I take along. I doubt most people will take the time to read it but some may. I may print some up on half page flyers and include one with each sale or hand them out to folks to read. I will try to get another picture or two later this afternoon to include. They are not pretty but they do work. :D

[WV Sawmiller]

   As promised here are close-ups of the birdhouse. This one was from scrap walnut with an ash top.


Front view - a 10" long 1X6 with a 1.5" dia hole near the top  

Side view - 2-1X6's cut on an angle from 12" to 10". The back is another 1X6 - it could be as short as 12" but I use whatever is available and handy and usually 16-18 inches long. I drill 2 holes in the backboard under the floor level of the house to screw or nail the box to a post or tree. You need 2 so it doesn't spin on the base.  

 The underside of the top is shown. It is just a 12"X12" 1X and I cut up 1" stickers to 4-6 inch lengths and use to mount the top to the box. I set the angled top of the box on the 1X12 and "eyeball" center it. I screw the first 1X1 sticker up against the edge of the top at the back then lift and rotate the box 180 degrees and center and repeat. This keeps the angle away from your drill. I place a 1X1 in position on one side then slide the box over out of my way and screw 2 screws into it, slide the box over, position the last 1X1, remove the box and screw the 1X1 down and test to fit. The box should slip into place right between the 4- 1X1's shown but be firm enough the top won't blow off. You can easily lift the top for observation and cleaning after mounting.

Before assembly I cut a "ladder" under the hole on the inside. I just raise my RAS blade and put the front under it and cut 4-5 parallel grooves so the chicks can climb out. The safe way would be to center the RAS over the spot and lower cutting the groove, raise, reposition the board and repeat 3-4 more times. The fast way is just have the saw raised and spinning and kiss the underside to the blade cutting shallow grooves to make the ladder but, of course, I can't recommend doing something that unsafe.

  Oh yeah -I angle top of the front and back boards on my table saw so the top fits over them better.

For the bottom I cut a roughly 4" X 6" piece of 1", insert it and screw it in flush with the 2 sides and front. I usually notch the corners on the bottom and deliberately make it a little loose to ensure better drainage and ventilation which is a big problem in most nest boxes. I understand you really never want to completely seal the connections for better air flow and health of the birds.

 When I finished taking these pictures I went ahead and completed 10-12 small crates to take to the flea market. These are sized to fit a dozen pint fruit jars. The larger one fits a dozen quarts and the small one perfectly fits inside which is convenient for transport and storage. I make these from 3/8" X 2" strips I edged off my 2" framing lumber, sticker and let dry a few months then cut to length on the RAS. I plane a 1X8 for quarts and a 1X6 for pints.


Small crate inside large crate for storage  

Simple slatted crate. I use ringed dry wall nails to get a better grip. Simple but handy.

[farmfromkansas]

I  built a whole pile of those little crates for my DIL and youngest son's wedding.  She used them for center pieces for the tables.

[kantuckid]

I've done past school projects with bluebird houses with 4-H years ago and later ~ 20 yrs back when I taught gifted & talented after retirement.
 It's very important with that type house to use specific measurements when building them so the birds are happy.  Hinged bottoms are purposeful, I used nail pivots. 

I've always had a wood duck box in mind for in the pond beside my shop but don't seem to get to it...