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neb
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2017 02:13pm - Edited by: neb
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I had some scrape wood and tin so I built 5 bird houses to place around the place.
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LDamm
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2017 06:05pm
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These aren't the hoe in the front type houses.
Isn't that called a brothel?
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naturelover66
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2017 09:11pm
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Nice Neb!!! I have 2 birdhouses up here at the cabin... We actually saw a little chickadee flying in n out of one today
Im so happy to be up here at the cabin this weekend.
Lisa.
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NorthRick
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2017 11:31am
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What kind of birds are you hoping to house?
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 20 Jul 2017 07:15pm - Edited by: KinAlberta
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Nice to see!
Years ago as a teenager, I built 20 or so out of scrap fence boards and stuck them up in the trees on the property. Unfortunately I used nails and most of them fell apart after a few years. Others were taken over by wasps. I have since read that rubbing wax inside deters wasps. (Fact or fiction who knows)
I'd love to mass produce a whole bunch more sometime, this time via screwing and gluing.
First though, I'd like to find a simple but very durable maintenance free design since they'd never get maintained in any way once mounted - not by me anyway.
What birds want in a birdhouse
Originally published April 4, 2011 http://www.seattletimes.com/life/lifestyle/what-birds-want-in-a-birdhouse/
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rockies
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# Posted: 20 Jul 2017 08:04pm - Edited by: rockies
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One thing nobody thinks of are building bat houses. They eat a ton of mosquitos and need all the help they can get.
http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/outdoors/gardening/how-to-build-a-bat-house
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 20 Jul 2017 09:11pm
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Quoting: rockies One thing nobody thinks of are building bat houses
Wrong, have 2 of them,  especially after I found a bat always chilling under one of my window covers when I took it off. They eat bug, bats good.
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old243
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2017 08:28am
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My wife and I made 12 bluebird houses, this spring. 6 were donated to our local hospital, where my daughter is a nurse. The long term care patients, painted and decorated them. This being Canada's 150 'th birthday. most of them wore a flag.. They sold raffle tickets, assisted by the patients and raised 350.00. they use this money for craft supplies. The others were donated to various events. a couple made it to a fence post some where. old243
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Steve_S
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2017 11:24am
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Great Thread and good work Neb. I love seeing people encouraging birds and I want to do so as well.
I am seeing so many different birds (and not being a birder I haven't a clue what some of them are) but love it... Would be nice to find some site which shows, what types of birdhouses are preferred by which birds, so you can built something that would attract certain types... I'd like to make some up over the winter for different types of birds which I could get out in spring, great way to be occupied in the deep cold of winter...
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LoonWhisperer
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2017 02:50pm
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Really nice Neb! I would love to do something like this as well. Steve_S... if you find a good resource online, please share.
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rockies
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2017 07:25pm - Edited by: rockies
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http://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/birding-basics/attracting-nesting-birds-better- birdhouses/
In addition to providing the right sized birdhouse and locating it where that species prefers (open space, shaded area, etc) you should also see about providing the right types of plants and food for the birds (as well as a water source).
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moneypitfeeder
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2017 09:53pm
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That's great! the furthest we've gotten was to leave the storm window ajar for the bats, they like to hang out on our window screens if we give them the "protective cover" of the raised storm window
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 23 Jul 2017 11:09pm
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http://www.merlintuttle.com/bat-house-builders-handbook/
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bushbunkie
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2017 09:20am
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Bird and Bat houses are great ideas to attract animal life to the property. Here in Ontario, Can. we lost 90% of the little brown bat population due to white fungus disease (respiratory). Really miss them hovering around the fire catchin mosquitos while we sit out at night...so we're putting up a few bat houses, too.
...and hummingbirds...so my wife buys a feeder and asks me to mount it up just under the roof of the porch...I said its way to high...they won't even see it! Next morning havin coffee on the porch I hear what sounds like a mini helicopter zipping through the porch...and there it is...very cool to watch...then gone into the sky like a flash.
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2017 11:13am
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What's that old adage? Read twice cut once
Ten Reasons Why People Fail to Attract Purple Martins
https://www.purplemartin.org/uploads/media/top10-257.pdf
Why do Some Bat Houses Fail?
http://www.batmanagement.com/Batcentral/batboxes/whyfail.html
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lburners
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# Posted: 28 Mar 2018 11:49am
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I have been knocking a couple pallet houses out.
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old243
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2018 09:56am
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I just completed another dozen blue bird houses , they are all made out of scrap lumber, but the birds don't mind. I use a 1 1/2 inch drill for blue birds. depends what bird you want, what size you make the hole. Lots of plans on the internet.. Makes a good winter's project. When you go to visit, someone ,take a bird house with you. Most folks appreciate the gift, and it cost you next to nothing. to make. old243
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Jebediah
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2018 07:12pm
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I build nesting boxes for wood ducks and mergansers. I also can use the same size box for barred owls, they lost over 1000 acres down the road from me because of logging, so I have 10 that I will put up now and probably another 10 next year...
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Wilbour
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2018 08:18pm
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This is the hole I plan on cutting for my bird house.
What sort of bird will it attract?
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 10 Apr 2019 02:50pm - Edited by: KinAlberta
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I’m still looking for a super fast and cheap way to make a hundred or two hundred birdhouses. Something that will last decades, is zero maintenance and doesn’t create a future cleanup job. No great ideas yet.
Ideally a birdhouse that just lasts forever or something that when it fails, it totally degrades. I don’t want to leave a legacy of thousands of screws and nails and pieces of broken plastic littering the forest floor. So ideally something that just gets put up again and again if it gets knocked on the ground.
Wood and dowels may be the only way to go. With a steep roof pitch to help it last.
However I just saw that our habitat for humanity has a hundred or more office trash cans. I was thinking of making them an offer for all of them. Put a piece of wood on top and screw them to trees. Could provide winter protection too. But as they fall apart they’d just create a huge mess.
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 10 Apr 2019 02:56pm
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Quoting: Wilbour This is the hole I plan on cutting for my bird house. What sort of bird will it attract? Bird_Hole.jpg
Love it!!!!
Best ever idea!
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Jebediah
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# Posted: 10 Apr 2019 03:22pm - Edited by: Jebediah
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Quoting: KinAlberta I’m still looking for a super fast and cheap way to make a hundred or two hundred birdhouses.
You could make the bird houses out of the different size sonotubes (not sure of the price) or cardboard tubes used when they roll up rugs, house wrap, landscaping fabrique...it probably would last a very long time and I believe its biodegradable....Not sure where you can find that used...recycle place maybe
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countrygirl
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# Posted: 10 Apr 2019 03:58pm
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Here’s a bunch of bluebird houses we made last year . And yes we were lucky enough to have some blue birds nest in them.
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old243
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# Posted: 11 Apr 2019 09:17am
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country girl , that is the same pattern that ,I use. Have been building , hanging them , giving away, to a lot of folks. Just completed, 6 more for our local hospital raffle. We do get the odd blue bird, mostly field swallows. If the hole is a bit bigger , starlings get in also, but they need a spot as well. I had one that a squirrel , had her young in. Some of mine are made from old hydro poles , that wood will last a very long time. If they get in bad shape , get they , to the shop and repair them, Make a good project, gets me out of the house.
Just completed some oak and maple , kitchen cutting boards. Laminated 1 inch strips, uses up your scrap hardwood. old243
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 11 Apr 2019 11:56am
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Those of you that aren't handy.
Wally Mart sells a real simple bird house for about $4. Hole size isn't that hard to enlarge or shrink if you need to and they are real easy to clean out annually as a board tilts open to remove old nesting.
I've got about ten of these spread around my three ponds. Mixed occupancy.
I also agree on bat houses. You think with three ponds I got mosquitoes. Nope
I got fat bats
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 13 Apr 2019 12:50pm
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Quoting: old243 country girl , that is the same pattern that ,I use. Have been building , hanging them , giving away,
I built 25 of that style using green / new fence boards but most fell apart. I’d used small maybe 1 1/2†siding nails that didn’t hold when the wood dried out.
I have a really nice simple design that have only one of, and haven’t put it up because I want to use it as a model for a whole lot more. I’ll try to remember to take and post a picture of it.
(Simple very rugged design but I couldn’t even find a match to it on the internet. Rear slope to the roof made of two boards mounted shingle style. Almost 2x __ construction.)
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Jebediah
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# Posted: 13 Apr 2019 03:52pm
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Quoting: KinAlberta I built 25 of that style using green / new fence boards
These were all made with fence boards...can't remember if they were green or not, they are 5 years old now...
DSC00337.JPG
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DSC00347.JPG
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3 level bird house
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Trellis bird house
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creeky
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# Posted: 13 Apr 2019 08:04pm
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Quoting: Wilbour What sort of bird will it attract? Bird_Hole.jpg
I don't know. But I'd guess it'd be lively
with an animated personality.
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Gary O
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# Posted: 13 Apr 2019 08:33pm
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Funny, y’all should mention bird houses
What do retired geezers make in winter?
Bird cabins
Cedar fence brds and shakes
Somewhat whimsical when using split twigs
a hole in the center of a knot helps in the whimsy dept
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 15 Apr 2019 12:02am
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Wow.
Beautiful Gary O.
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