Feed The Birds, Tuppence A Bag
Over on my homeschool blog I mentioned this great post with instructions on making a soda bottle bird feeder. It’s such a great idea to do this time of year when food may be scarce for your local birds. But some people may not want soda bottles hanging around in their yard. A great creative way to spruce them up is to print a design on transparency paper and attach it to the bottles. You can read more about about that idea here.
Making wooden bird feeders is a fun and creative thing to do with kids. You can make one to sit on top of a tall pole or one to hang from a tree. You can even make bird houses out of scrap wood to give your backyard birds a place to hide from the cold. If you’re not sure about making a birdhouse there is a great info sheet here that can help you with the details.
Roofs should be constructed with sufficient pitch to shed water. At least 3 inches of overhang should be allowed to protect the entrance from driving rain. Some water mav still seep into the house, therefore a few small holes should be drilled in the floor to allow drainage.
Builders should plan for several holes near the top of the box to provide ventilation in hot weather. The house should be constructed with screws for easy disassembly when cleaning.
Entrance holes should be near the top of the box and proportional to the size of the bird which will use the house. Houses should have the interior walls roughened or grooved to assist the young in climbing to the opening.
Of course your bird house doesn’t have to be plain. Decorated bird houses look very cute in your yard and can add some extra fun to making one. A little paint can make any bird house a work of art. And who knows, putting up bird houses and feeders now may result in some great bird spotting next spring. When the baby birds bgin coming out of their eggs. Who could resist cute, little baby birds?
Have a creative bird house that you or your kids have made? I’d love to see it! Share a link and let me know!
January 1st, 2008 at 11:14 pm
[...] did not know existed. Like National Bird Day. You can show your fine feathered friends some love by building them a birdhouse or a bird feeder. Or just take some time and try to get to know your winged neighbors a little [...]