Nesting Materials for Backyard Birds

This is an item that we completely love and one a backyard bird watcher can appreciate. A beautiful door wreath made out of bird nesting materials. Not only can you use it to decorate your front door, but birds can land on it and take some of the fluff use it to build their nests. The wreath is very attractive with it’s earthy colors and is made out of all natural materials which are safe for birds. The nesting wreath is made from feathers, cotton, hemp and aspen fiber and it is so soft! We are really taken by the idea of having a bit of living art in the yard with birds landing at our very door. If you are going to decorate the outdoors, why not make it green and part of the overall wildlife habitat? It’s a great gift for that bird watcher on your gift giving list who has everything or just for yourself. The feather your wreath is one of those small items that you don’t need but is sure nice to spoil yourself with! To find out about the Feather Your Nest Wreath visit our page of backyard bird nesting materials for an assortment of nest building helpers.

Red Bellied Woodpeckers are great backyard guests and a happy sight for the wild bird watcher. They will easily visit bird feeding stations and garden habitats. A red bellied woodpecker will frequent a yard for suet as well as black oil sunflower seed, and seem to be able to manage to access a wide variety of bird feeder designs.

Range and Habitat:
The red-bellied woodpecker may be found in nearly all of the eastern United States, with the exception of for northern New England. Birds in the northern most part of the range might migrate in the wintertime. The red-bellied woodpecker can be found in exposed and swampy forests. Red-bellied Woodpecker is found in open and swampy woodlands. It prefers forests, swamps or wooded suburban habitats below 600 meters elevation, but can be found at up to 900 meters in mountains. In the winter, birds in the northern most areas of their range may move south. Their breeding habitat is commonly deciduous forests in southern Canada and the northeastern United States, although they may roam as far south as Florida and as far west as Texas.

Food:
The red-bellied woodpecker consumes beetles, flies, grasshoppers,caterpillars, ants, beetle larvae and other insects. It also eats acorns, tree sap, beechnuts and fruits.They can also consume frogs, fish, nestlings and eggs. It applies its bill to dig for insects in trees and stumps. The red-bellied woodpecker occasionally stores food in a tree cavity. In the winter, the red-bellied woodpecker’s diet consists primarily of seeds and it can often be seen frequently at backyard bird feeders.

Attracting to Backyard Bird Feeders

Red bellied woodpeckers are common guests to backyard bird feeding stations. In our yard we have seen them most frequently on our double tail prop suet feeder, including having the male on one side and the female on the other:

Tail Prop Suet Feeder

This is only one style of suet feeder, there are may you can shop for at Wild Bird Suet Feeders. The red bellied woodpecker’s preference in suet flavors has been peanut and peanut butter suet, but we have also watched them eat a lot of berry and fruit flavored suets.

In our backyard, their second favorite bird feeder is an open platform tray with black oil sunflower seeds. Now, we have our platform tray feeder mounted on a pole and not hanging. It is the same feeder shown below and we absolutely can’t say enough good about it. It’s made from recycled plastic, cleans very easily and the mesh is small enough to handle millet. This style feeder is highly visible to birds and goes a long way to attract new birds species to a yard.

Hanging Tray Feeder

A note on this feeder: ours is mounted on a pole. We used a threaded pipe flange and mounted it on a threaded pipe we purchased in the plumbing department of a hardware store. The recycled feeder itself has a bar on the underside which is not visible in the picture - it’s covered with seed - however, you can use this bar to screw a flange in for pole mounting. BUT! The manufacturer of this wonderful feeder offers a Manufacturer’s Lifetime Guarantee for good reason. These feeders last! However, due to the fact that it is designed as a hanging feeder we likely gave up our Manufacturer’s Lifetime Guarantee by drilling extra holes in it. So don’t take our advice on this one. Ours is used as a pole mounted platform feeder set aside from our smaller songbird feeders in order to give jays, doves, grackle invasions, etc a separate feeding area. We needed it to be solid due to the application and it can get pretty loaded with birds! We’re extremely happy with it our way but it’s a wonderful hanging feeder as it was made to be, and red bellied woodpeckers can land on it easily when it is mounted by hanging. There is a similar wooden tray feeder available which is made to post mount.

Shop for a wider assortment of platform feeders here: Platform Bird Feeders

Back to red bellied woodpeckers. They also like our shelled peanut feeder hand make us laugh since they don’t cling to the side mesh but instead cling to the tray, It all looks rather awkward but the woodpeckers seem quite happy. The titmice aren’t so pleased when their peanut feeder tilts with the weight of the woodpecker!

Nesting:
Both parents select the nest site and excavate the cavity. Nest are hollowed in dead trees or branches with the cavity lined with wood chips. They nest in the decomposed cavities of dead and dying trees, old stumps, or in live trees that have soft wood such as elms, maples, or willows. Female lays 3 to 8 smooth and glossy white eggs. Incubation lasts approximately 12 to 14 days, Young are fed by both parents and begin to fledge at about 24 to 27 days old. They remain close to the nest for few days more, and then they follow their parents foraging. They are fed by their parents for up to 10 weeks. At the end of this period, parent birds will drive them away. Young may breed the next spring. This species may occasionally produce two clutches per season, but generally they raise a single brood. House and box height placement from ground in feet: 12-20.

Red Bellied Woodpecker House

A simple bluebird box. Other wild birds who can nest in this box are: Eastern Bluebirds, western bluebirds, chickadees (black capped, Carolina, chestnut backed & mountain), house finch, flycatchers (ash throated, great crested), nuthatches (white breasted, red breasted), Sparrow (house), Swallows (violet green, tree), titmice (tufted, plain), yellow bellied sapsucker, wren (Carolina, Becwiks, house), warbler prothontary. We call it a bluebird box, but it’s a great all around box.

This is the main size birdhouse we put up. While it’s designed for a bluebird, it’s suitable for such a variety of cavity nesting birds that we consider it our standard smaller species bird box. You can drive yourself dingy with trying to figure out the perfect dimensions for each species. If you start trying to build a very specific house for each bird species, they’ll do what they want anyway and some birds who may have otherwise been attracted to houses in your yard may get left out.

For example: a chickadee or a titmouse can live in the box size included in these plans. However, a chickadee can also nest in a smaller box with a smaller entrance hole, but a titmouse can not. So you go ahead and build a small house with chickadees in mind, and a second larger house with titmice in mind. Then the chickadee decides your best laid plans are your plans, not his, and moves into the titmouse box and not the special one you built just for chickadees.* The titmouse can not fit in the smaller hole of the chickadee box you built, so is left to find a different place to nest.

Meanwhile, with the chickadee happily settled into your titmouse house, the chickadee gets territorial during breeding season. This is about March-July and they have a territory of around 10 acres. They will not allow another chickadee couple to nest in their area, therefore another chickadee couple will not be using the smaller special box that is still empty. However, they will let a titmouse (a titmouse has a 2-5 acre territory, breeds March-July) nest in their territory, or a nuthatch, or other species. Breeding chickadees primarily care about other chickadees. If you build two boxes which will suit either a chickadee or a titmouse, you have a better chance of attracting each to nest on your property.

So, we put up several boxes in this size to accommodate a wider variety of birds and to avoid confusing ourselves with dimension mathematics since really, that’s a topic with a million human opinions and the birds aren’t talking. We’ve had great luck with this size house for Eastern bluebirds, chickadees, titmouse, Carolina wrens and red breasted and white breasted nuthatch. All have nested in one of these on our property.

*in reality what happens is some industrious little wren comes along and builds a house in both. And then builds a nest in your garage just in case.

Plans here! click image for larger

WOOD: We recommend a rough textured cedar for these plans. It weathers well and has a texture that is easy for the birds to cling to. This helps the babies when it’s time to fledge - the have better grip when trying to crawl out of the nest. Also, cedar does not have to be painted. Do not paint bird houses. Paint isn’t good for them and natural is more attractive to the birds. Do not put a perch on the box - the birds do not need it, and it only helps potential predators to get to the entrance and to the nestlings.

MOUNTING: This set of bird house plans may be post or pole mounted, or attached to a tree. To pole mount, one choice is to use plumbing pipe straps on the back to attach a pole to the back of the house. Pipe straps are very inexpensive and you can use a non-threaded pole this way. Don’t bother with the PVC style - they can be a pain in the buns and break.

A second method of pole mounting is to use a female threaded conduit pipe flange on the bottom of the box and a threaded pole. Galvanized threaded poles are available in hardware stores inexpensively - check the plumbing and conduit departments.

The bluebird house in these plans may also be mounted to a tree.

ACCESS Method One: Here are two methods for providing a way to open your bluebird box. Below is an illustration of the first method using piano hinges on the inside. This is a bit more difficult than the second method as you have to chisel a space where the hinges attach to the panels in order to recess the hinge into the wood. A nail or dresser hook in the front can be used as a fastener to keep the door panel closed, and a slightly protruding screw on the side acts as a doorknob. Why we like this method is because we feel that it is the safest for the babies - when you open the box, there is less danger of the babies falling out or disturbing the nest in any way.

ACCESS method two: The second method is easier. Please note that the birdhouse pictured is a front opening box, but the same thing can be done on the side.

This one is simple. A small. 1/4″ gap is left between the roof line and top of opening door side panel, and the sides screwed in from the top only. A dresser hook is used on the bottom front as a fastener to keep the access door closed. When you open the access door, simply remove the dresser hook and the door swings upward, which pivot on the top screws.

In the picture below, the block on the front interior is a small block of cedar which we have scored to help nestlings climb out of the box when it is time to fledge. This feature is optional - if you use a rough cedar, they should have enough grip. We add them because maybe it helps the birds and it’s a quick, simple step.

Notes: The predator guard on the front of both bluebird houses pictured are 3/4″ blocks with a metal ring around it to help keep squirrels from chewing the opening and to help keep squirrels or raccoons from reaching into the house to get nestlings or eggs. The metal ring can be purchased at a local wild bird watcher’s supply. We do recommend adding these.

So far this season, both of the houses in the photos have been inspected by a chickadee couple and an eastern bluebird couple. It’s early February and they are just house hunting, but during the season we will post updates on how successful various boxes are. Both the chickadees and bluebirds spent quality time checking out the potential homes, going inside repeatedly. They are placed on the edge of a woods with low shrubs and tree branches nearby for perching, at a height of about 5 feet off the ground. One box is on a tree and one pole mounted.

And as we tend to do, we encourage you to participate in NestWatch Birdhouse Network should you put up a bird house, or if you have wild birds building nests that you can keep an eye on. You can also shop for pre-made bird houses at Wild Bird Houses and Boxes.

This style bird house is classically called a wren house, but other smaller species can use it as well. Chickadees and titmice are two birds besides wrens who may pick this house to nest in. Often the problem with this bird house style is the size: usually they are not big enough on the interior and deep enough for birds to build a nest in. Make certain that a wren house is at least 6″ on each side with an entrance hole at least 5 1/2″ from the bottom of the house.

GET THE PLANS! click image for larger

An option for a circular hole as the front entrance is to cut out the top corner where the birds may enter. Advantages of this are: It is easier to cut the triangle out than drill a circular hole. A circle as the entrance needs to be so close to the top of the front panel that you risk splitting the wood.

If you use a triangle cut-out entrance and the wren house is going to be hung, an overhead baffle should be used since it is too easy for predators to access. Clear hanging baffles are available in dome shapes. On houses with circular holes, you can add a 3/4″ thick wood hole extender and metal ring around the entrance to offer some protection , but on the triangle shape you may not.

MOUNTING: This wren style bird house may be hung or post mounted. Post mounting is safest for the birds!!! To post mount, screw a 3/4 to 1″ thick board to the back of the house, just under the roof line and extending at least 10″ below the house to use as a mounting bracket. You may then screw the mounting bracket board into a post. This is more difficult than hanging as you will have to screw the top of the mounting bracket from the interior of the house.

We personally hang this style bird house by using an eye hook in the front panel and the back panel and suspending by a chain but we go the extra distance to tie it down securely. PLEASE BE AWARE: if you hang this house, you must must must make sure that it is secure and does not blow around much. A wind or storm will shake the daylights out of it, break eggs and harm birds. ANOTHER WIRE can be used to anchor the house from the back to another stabilizing mount such as a tree or even the ground if needed. We ALWAYS anchor these with a second chain or wire.

ACCESS: We have found that the easiest access method for a hanging wren house is to hinge the roof. This is done with a hinge attaching one roof panel to the side of the box, and a hook and eye on the back exterior of the house to secure it closed, OR a dresser hook pin drilled through the roof into the back side edge as a fastener. Please refer to the photo - it is worth a thousand words and all that. A piano hinge may be used on the interior, but remember that there is a 1/4″ ventilation gap between the side of the house and roof line. Ventilation holes may also be drilled in the back. A bird house needs drainage - Drain holes may be drilled in the bottom sides, 1/4″. In the case of the photo, the bottom is not a perfect fit as the board was slightly warped so these holes are not needed. There is a small gap in the bottom seam.

We have seen wren house plans where the access is on the sides, with a side panel that removes to open, but this does not wok out too well for monitoring nests. If there are babies in a nest, they should be checked on, and you can not remove the

side without disturbing the nest itself. The nest is built on the sides of the box.

Notes: the metal ring at the opening was purchased at a local wild bird watcher supply. It is now January here and the birds are just checking boxes but not actively nesting. In a few weeks we will hang this house under a clear dome baffle (we have snakes) and hang it by a more decorative chain, but for right now, this give the birds the opportunity to house hunt. After a couple of seasons the cedar will age and blend well with it’s surroundings.

It has been up a week and the chickadees and titmice have inspected it, and ironically, an Eastern bluebird couple. The bluebirds spent a lot of time on it, going inside over and again, along with checking out the surrounding area. This particular bluebird couple also looked at the other bird houses in our yard but seemed to like the wren house style best. Our other bird houses the bluebird couple inspected are designed to be specifically suited for bluebirds. Of course at this time it’s just inspecting potential homes, not nesting, but we’d think it would be amusing if they did decide to nest in a wren house and ignore the bluebird houses.

Our Carolina Wren couple hasn’t look at it yet that we know of - but they are battling us for our grill which they really are very determined to move into.

If you build a bird house, buy a bird house, or just have wild birds nesting on your property, please consider participating in NestWatch Birdhouse Network!

LATER NOTE: we had Carolina chickadees successfully nest and raise a family in this box. You can also shop for pre-made bird houses at Wild Bird Houses and Boxes.

Here is a super easy set of bird house nesting platform plans. This one has no roof which is fairly natural for the birds. If mounted under eaves and on the non-weather side of a building, the nestings will be given some weather protection.

We build bird houses out of cedar. It’s a personal preference on our part - other untreated wood such as white pine may also be used, but pine requires painting. Cedar is very durable and weather resistant, and also more bug resistant than other woods. It will last for years and many birds will be able to raise their young without having to re-paint.

Birds who may use a nesting shelf are: American robins, Eastern phoebe, black phoebe, Says phoebe and barn swallows. Other species do occasionally make use of shelves.

Holes can be drilled through the back to allow for mounting.

click on image for larger picture

You can also shop for nesting shelves at Wild Bird Nesting Shelf.

Nesting shelf platforms may appeal to a few species of wild birds which do not nest in cavities. This can include American robins, Eastern phoebe, black phoebe, Says phoebe and barn swallows. Of these, the American robin is most likely to use a shelf.

Wood: We always use cedar for building bird houses. It does not need to be painted, wears very well and has a rough surface which is easy for birds feet to grip. As cedar weathers, it turns a beautiful color which blends well with natural surroundings.

Placement: Place nesting shelf platforms under eaves of buildings in an area not well traveled by humans. Place facing away from the direction wind and weather blows in from. Another option is to place in low growing shrubs. A short pole is perfect for this - about 3 - 5 ft tall.

Options: Feel free to leave the roof off of a nesting shelf you build! It may be more appealing to the birds without a roof as it would be more natural. Experiment! Build two!

click on image for larger version

Bluebird boxes should be mounted 4-15 feet from the ground. Wee have found a height of 5 feet to be perfect - this allows for us to easily reach the box for monitoring and nesting, plus it seems to make the bluebirds quite happy.

Face your birdhouse front away from the weather side of your yard to avoid rain angling in during storms.

Bluebird houses may be kept up year round. Bluebirds seem to always be checking for homes! In winter, birds will use houses to roost in, and bluebird parents begin the search for a nest site as early as February in southern states.

Bird houses made just for bluebirds help provide nesting sites for them is one of the surest ways to attract bluebirds to your garden. While these beautiful birds may not be interested in regular bird seed offered at feeders, they need cavity nesting sites and may be encouraged to nest in your personal wildlife refuge. Bluebirds have lost much of their natural habitat through land clearing and with the introduction of non native birds who compete for the same nesting sites, so including a bluebird box in your habitat will help conservation efforts.

Always clean out your bluebird box as soon as the babies fledge. Remove the used nest and clean out all debris, then was and scrub with warm, soapy water. Rinse thoroughly! The nest should be removed. You don’t want a pile of nest on top of nests building up. They can harbor parasites and disease. Also this pile can bring the level up to where predatory animals could reach the babies and eggs. Also if it is the first or second family the female may have started a nest somewhere else, and if another pair sees a nest there they may think the bluebird box is already occupied.

Shop for bluebird houses at at Bluebird Houses and Boxes or special bluebird feeders can be bought at Bluebird Houses and Boxes. We also carry a good selection of Mealworms and Insect Bird Food.

The Carolina wren is an adaptable dweller of forest lands, urban gardens, swamps, farms, and tree filled human areas. We often see them in our backyards as well as hear their lusty songs in the neighborhood. It is one of nine species of wrens that occur in North America. The male and female Carolina Wren look alike with the male being slightly larger. Range: Primarily the southeastern United states north to central parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, New York and southern New England Diet: Carnivore - Various insects, spiders and occasionally small frogs. They will readily visit backyard bird feeders. Habitat: Woodland thickets, brush, urban gardens with shrubbery. Average Lifespan: in the wild 6 years Size: 12-14 cm (5-6 in) Wingspan: 29 cm (11 in) Weight: 18-22 g (0.64-0.78 ounces) Nesting: 4-5 brown spotted whitish eggs. Nest is a domed and made of sticks with a feather lining. They will nest in hollow stumps, stone walls, thickets, and other small crevices. These birds are small but very vocal and have one of the loudest songs per volume. Anyone who has been around these little birds know that they are willing to burst into song anytime, anywhere. They differ from other wren species due to the fact that only the male Carolina Wren sings the their loud song. Carolina wrens are usually found in pairs, with each pair staying within it’s home territory throughout the year. The Carolina Wren is sensitive to cold weather, and those within the northern ranges of their territory see a decrease in population after a severe winter. They do not migrate. Their range has expanded northward during the nineteenth century and this is thought to be due to gradually increasing winter temperatures. They eat insects and spiders, for the most part, either on or near the ground in areas close to moderate and heavy undergrowth. They are abundant in the Eastern states and a desirable bird in your garden - their loud, spontaneous bursting into song is a joy and they are characters who get into everything. Carolina Wrens are abundant and live easily in a backyard habitat. While they seem to be around and very busy, they may or may not actually often eat at feeders but simply dive in when they choose, take a morsel and go about their foraging way. They are very attracted to water, so include a bird bath in your birding habitat. Our little Carolina wrens are partial to a small dust bath we have which has wood ash in it. Plants: Bushy Shrubs for nesting and hunting. Feeder: Carolina Wrens eat insects and spiders, for the most part, and tend to forage the ground near or under bushy shrubbery. The can be attracted to suet and prefer it over any food we have at our backyard feeding stations. Our experience has been that one of their favorite treats is shelled peanuts and we see them far more on our open platform feeders, cling style suet or cling to, mesh or wire nut feeders than we see them on bird feeders with perches or tube styles. We rarely see them eat sunflower seed, their preference seems to be peanuts and suet, but we have heard others who do attract wrens with black oil sunflower seed. This is our personal experience only. Wrens, being wrens, will do whatever they dang well please. The little wren in the above photo is on one of our bird feeders. It is a double tail prop suet feeder such as this: Of course the tiny wren does not require a suet feeder this large, but it is a good size for the bigger woodpeckers. You can shop for a large selection of suet feeders at: Suet Wild Bird Feeders. The wren is feeding on a berry suet dough. Since it is summer here, er have out no-melt dough. They have shown us a preference for suets with fruit, raisins or peanuts in it. You can shop for several flavors at: Suet and No Melt Dough Bird Food. Wren Bird Houses Bird House: For a Carolina Wren bird house, use the height above ground: 5-10″. Nests are dome shaped with a side entrance and built from bark strips, dried grasses, dead leaves, sticks, pine needles, mosses, feathers, straw, shed snake skin, paper and string. Nests are then lined with hair or fur. They are not often more than 12 feet above the ground. Providing wrens with nesting materials is great fun, so if you have wrens, try adding some of their preferred materials during breeding season to your yard to encourage them to stay. A Carolina wren will readily use a bird house to nest. They will also readily use your hanging plants, mailbox, a tin can, sheds, potted plants, garage if you leave the door open, your pocket if you stand still too long, or anything else they feel like exploring. We have chased them out of our grill and from under the covers of large propane tanks, and other unsafe places for them to build houses. We have found Carolina wrens nesting in thickets on the ground. They are known to build multiple nests in order to confuse predators, and each year we consider it officially spring when we have to start explaining to the wrens that it would be very kind of them to make use of the special wren boxes we have provided instead of our garage. Providing a house for the wrens helps them nest in safer areas. Our favorite wren bird house is not fancy, but in our opinion the best. It’s well suited for them and provides drainage, ventilation as well as natural coloring so the bird house isn’t bright and visible to predators. We have had them nest in our yard in this box. Shop for Wren bird houses at Wren Bird Houses. Summary: Attract Carolina Wrens with shrubby hedges, suet, water, nesting materials and bird houses.