Dan Antion

#ThursdayDoors – For the Birds

I recently captured a couple of pictures of Snoopy feeding her children.

Last week, I took a walk round the block adjacent to the office park where I work. I shared the doors I noticed along the way. One of the houses on that walk has a large number of bird houses on the fence around their back yard. I thought I’d share those today, as a whimsical doors post to welcome the month of May.

Birdhouses may seem like the simplest of all “home improvement” projects to undertake, but according to The Spruce, there’s a lot of thought and planning involved.

Factors that affect which birds will use a bird house or nesting box include…

    • Entrance hole size
    • Overall cavity depth and house height
    • Interior floor dimensions
    • General house shape and design
    • Materials used
    • House location and mounting style

To build the best bird house, you first need to learn what cavity-nesting birds are frequent visitors in your region. These are the birds most likely to investigate your house, and when you keep their needs in mind, you can build a bird house to invite them to become more permanent residents.

In theory, the birdhouse I purchased and mounted in our back yard is a Bluebird house. At least that’s what the guy who sold it to me said. He also gave me specific instructions. “Mount it on a pole” he said, “at least ten feet from trees or bushes.” When you add in the condition that I have to be able to maneuver my utility trailer around the yard, that actually doesn’t leave many locations for that pole. He also instructed me to mount it as soon as possible (I was giving it to my wife for Christmas) because Bluebirds would be in the market for new homes in February.

Bluebirds would like this house, because it included a deep cavity, the right size opening and it doesn’t have a perch. The lack of a perch was critical, because House Wrens and House Sparrows compete for nesting sites with Bluebirds, but they like a perch. Also, the house I bought is deeper than what a wren or sparrow might like.

That all sounds very scientific, but I’d call it a failed theory. Snoopy, the bird (species) that has occupied this birdhouse since Day-1 appears to be a House Sparrow. Snoopy (I call her Snoopy, because she sits on the roof a lot) doesn’t seem to need a perch and although she didn’t like the depth of the nesting box, she just filled it with sticks and debris until it got to a height she liked. She (a female) has had broods here for three years and seems to be setting up housekeeping again.

The modern version of Thursday Doors is the brainchild of Norm Frampton. Norm is a wonderful photographer and a door aficionado who hails from the Montreal area in Canada. Norm invites and attracts door fans from around the world to participate in this tribute to all things door-related. If you want to see more doors, and especially if you have a door(s) to share, flap your way up to Norm’s nest and follow his instructions.

The gallery is a little larger than normal today, because there were more birdhouses than I would normally use, but not enough to save for leftovers.

This one has a back porch.
A lot of work went into this one. I like the details.
All of them are decorated with branches and many have flowers.
I like the comical windows.
Those boats need a lighthouse.
Maybe for seabirds.
One of several houseboats.
I wonder how much of that depth is available for the birds.
This boat looks a little rickety.
I like the chimney. I wonder if there’s a working fireplace.
Any port in a storm.
That’s a pretty large entrance.
There are two houses of this particular style.
Pretty big flower in the back yard of this house.
I like the little roof over the door and the flowers.
I couldn’t always get a look at the “doors” since there is a fence in the way.
This looks big enough for the cousins from down south to visit.
Nice simple lines. maybe this is considered contemporary.
Side view. This house seems fairly well weather-tight
This looks like Dr. Seuss built it.
I like the decorative paint job.
Fairly large house.

101 comments

  6. What a wonderful take on doors… love it! Sorry your house didn’t manage to attract a bluebird occupant, but don’t feel badly. I put out mealworms every spring and rarely see them either.

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    • Thanks. Our birdhouse is doing well. We didn’t get a bluebird, but Snoopy really seems to like it and has raised 4-6 little ones so far. She’s actually funny to watch, sitting on top of the roof.

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  7. I enjoyed this post, Dan. I also like birds. We live close to a bird park (national protected park) and we gets lots of interesting birds in our garden. I love these bird houses. I could make a gingerbread house just like these [smile].

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    • Thanks Roberta (and thanks for the tweet – appropriate for birdhouses). We get some interesting birds, but they keep clearing away the woods near us, so I worry that we won’t see that many in the future. All the critters are hard pressed to find a home.

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  8. These are fantastic, Dan. Last year I did a post with similar whimsical birdhouse we discovered on one of our bike trips. They’re much more interesting to humans than plain old birdhouses, although I suspect the birds don’t care. I like that you called your bird Snoopy. :-)

    janet

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    • Thanks Janet. I really think the only thing these guys care about is whether they fit through the opening. We’ve gotten pretty fond of Snoopy and are happy when she (or the next Snoopy) returns.

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  9. Love bird houses. But who would’ve thought so much thought needs to go into choosing, or building, the right one for the birds in your neighborhood? But when I read the factors you need to consider, it makes absolute sense.

    I hope all these cute bird houses attract a lot of tenants. That would be quite a sight to see! The last two photos (same house) ….. I’m curious about the cabinet handles. At first I thought they were used as perches, but they appear to be on the sides of the house and that seems an unlikely place for a perch.

    Great shot of Snoopy making herself quite at home. Apparently you and the Editor are terrific landlords! And clearly Snoopy is a welcome tenant.

    Great take on doors Dan. These are truly whimsical!
    🐾Ginger 🐾

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    • Thanks Ginger. We did everything the book said to make our birdhouse unattractive to wrens and sparrows, yet she moved right in and started a brood. I haven’t seen any birds in these upscale houses. Maybe they have to go through an agent.

      I was also curious about the drawer handles. There is one that looks like an awning over the entrance, but the ones on the sides make no sense. Then again…

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  11. These houses are so cute! Can’t you just picture the birds checking them out: “Hmm-mm. Not enough windows.” “Oh, dear–we won’t get the morning light in the kitchen.” Anyone of these would make an adorable ‘people’ house. Good ones, Dan.

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  12. These are absolutely wonderful! The creativity that goes into the making of birdhouses never ceases to amaze me!!

    If it wasn’t for one chubby hunter in our house, I would love to have a birdhouse – or ten 🙂

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  14. Perfect way to spice up Thursday Doors! I love these photos. Who would have thought that building a birdhouse would require such planning? I once simply taped the bottom of a plastic strawberry container into the underside of the awning outside my kitchen window and watched the sparrows build a nest there, then watched the babies hatch and grow until they left. I didn’t have a camera then; the photos would have been awesome.

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    • Thanks CM. We’ve had them build nests in the oddest places. I prefer this to building in part of my house. I don’t think we have room for a neighborhood like these people have.

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  16. We have a bluebird house. It is not fancy, but it is currently occupied with bluebird babies. The bluebirds seldom come up to our house because of the tree cover. They like open spaces. Our birdhouse is in a small open meadow away from the trees. This is the third year the bluebirds have used this same house.

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    • I’m a little jealous, but happy for you. We don’t have a very big yard, do this was as best as I could do. Still, we’ve come to enjoy seeing Snoopy sitting on the roof of “her” house.

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      • Snoopy sounds like the perfect tenant, Dan. The bluebirds can be a bit picky. And if you have starlings, they prey on the bluebirds, sadly.

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  18. That’s a wonderful, crazy selection of birdhouses, Dan. Love them all. I’m inspired now to make one myself. My daughter’s bird box was snubbed by all the birds in her garden but she has it in a tree. I must tell her to try a pole instead. Glad yours didn’t go to waste, with Snoopy moving in.

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  21. Those birdhouses are amazing, Dan. How creative is that! I’d have them around for decorations even if they were never inhabited. When I lived in Vermont, we purchased a bird “apartment building” in an attempt to attract purple martins. You’re right that birds can be very picky about their quarters. :-)

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  22. Hi Dan – love seeing all the bird houses … delightful, fun and quirky; while Snoopy is special – at least someone wanted the Editor’s Christmas Bird House! cheers Hilary

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  23. Those pictures are adorable! And I love your story of how scientific the construction needs to be, and how the birds just do what birds wanna do. Naturally, the Seussian styles are my favorites. ~grin~

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  27. Fun post Dan. We’ve been thinking about doing something like this, along with maybe some bird feeders, for a while now, but I have no idea where to start. Time to get a little more serious about researching this subject for our area.
    I’m sure our feathered friends are quite comfortable in all of these places :-)

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    • Thanks Norm. I’m wondering about furniture and appliances 😏

      Years ago, I built a squirrel feeder in order to feed them but prevent blue jays from stealing all the peanuts. It took a lot of work to get that right. I also tried (and failed) to make a squirrel-proof bird feeder.

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  30. I love the birdhouses. There is a gentleman not far from here who holds a sale twice a year and sells out totally every single time. If you go on Facebook, check out Tattered Rabbit Farm. I have one of his birdhouses here inside. It’s way too cool to be outside. :-)

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  31. What a wonderful surprise for spring on #ThursdayDoors! I really like the Seuss-ish birdhouses, and the rickety yellow boat, and the log cabin lookin one.
    My dad built birdhouses for a while. I think he gifted most of them. I’d love to have some. I wouldn’t mind wrens and sparrows, I don’t need fancy birds, just songs :)

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  36. Wow! Did birds actually move into those houses? Definitely the high rent district. Oh, the choices, indeed. If I were a bird, I’d settle into the simpler contemporary house. BTW, no bluebirds have ever moved into any of the many bluebird houses at school. We followed all the directions, too. Maybe they don’t like the sound of children in the distance. Best to you, Dan.

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    • Thanks Jennie. Someone mentioned that bluebirds do like to be away from the action. Oh well, birdhouses at a school should have birds for the children to see.

      I haven’t seen any birds in these stately mansions. I hope Snoopy doesn’t read this, she might be asking me to make renovations.

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      • You’re right, Dan. Even though our bird houses are far away, they’re still in earshot of the playground. Hey, any bird that takes up residence is a good thing. And fingers crossed that Snoopy doesn’t read this. 🙂

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  38. I love, love these bird houses! Perfect pictures for Thursday Doors. The houses are so much nicer than the top of our porch light (right next to our front door) that some stupid doves are trying to build. I think my husband won the test of wills when he put something on top so they couldn’t nest in it.

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    • Ha – I know that battle. One of the reasons I put up the birdhouse was because a bird was building a nest over the track of the sliding door to my workshop.

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  39. How cool that you did a Doors post of birdhouses, Dan! I love it. Plus the story about Snoopy is adorable. But who knew birds were such picky house hunters…
    Hmmm… I’ll have to research to see if magpies ever use birdhouses.

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  42. Nice post. I love observing the routine of these birds. Do you know my nickname in my neighborhood in Mumbai was ‘chakla’? The pronunciation goes like this – Chuck-La. It means a male sparrow. All the female friends of my mother who visited our house called me that for a reason. I was skinny and tiny and would eat very little from my plate. A direct comparison to these birds pecking tiny grains.

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  43. I bet there’s a snoopy in every one of those birdhouses. The house sparrows breed earlier in the season and choose the best real estate…. the suburbs, MickeyD’s, and Home Depot. Noisy but they are cute to watch.

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  44. I love birdhouses! This is inspiring me to think seriously about adding one to this yard — it would be my first! The amount of research involved is a little intimidating, though.

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