Nesting materials can also be hung in a wire cage. These cages are especially popular in the spring when birds will come and choose those that are suitable for them. Try thin strips of clothing or rags, small twigs, wool, and even feathers.

There are more than two dozen birds in the USA and Canada that are happy to nest in bird houses. The most important measurement in any nesting box and the birds it attracts is the diameter of the entrance hole. An inch and a half is small enough to deter starlings. Starlings and house sparrows have been known to kill many baby birds as well as adults sitting on the nest.

Nesting birds have problems with other predators as well. The easiest way to discourage predatory cats, snakes, raccoons, and chipmunks is to mount the nesting box on a metal pole, or pick up a metal predator guard for wood post mounts.

Here are a few of the most common, and preferred, wild birds that you can help in your neighborhood:

Bluebirds – If you put up a bluebird house near an open field, orchard, park, cemetery, or golf course, you’ll have a very good chance of attracting a pair of nesting bluebirds. These beautiful and beneficial birds prefer nest boxes on a tree stump or wooden fence post, elevated to between three and five feet high. Bluebirds will also nest in the old nesting holes of woodpeckers so if a dead or dying tree isn’t posing any troubles and you see a woodpecker hole in the trunk you might like to leave it standing – at least until autumn.

Robins – Robins are our largest birds of the thrush family. They prefer to build their nest in the crotch of a tree or a nesting platform. These birds like to nest six feet or higher up in a shaded area. We get them under the overhang of our hay shed and front porch. Creating “mud puddles” nearby assists robins in the spring, as they use mud to line their nests.

Chickadees, Nuthatches, and Titmice These smaller birds share the same food, feeders, and habitats. If you put a properly designed nest box in a wooded yard, at least one pair is sure to check it out and one may stay to grace you with babies that return year after year! Chickadee nesting boxes are perfect at 6′ elevation. Nuthatches can be between 5-6′ elevation. You can hang them from limbs or secure them to tree trunks. The entrance hole should be 1-1/8″ to attract chickadees yet exclude house sparrows. Encourage these birds to stay in your yard by continuing to fill your suet and peanut feeders through the summer and keep a bird bath or dripper going at all times for them.

Brown Creepers and Prothonotary Warblers – Brown creepers generally like to nest behind the curved bark of tree trunks. If your yard or garden is heavily wooded, slab bark houses will appeal to creepers. Prothonotary warblers also prefer slab bark houses, but they will only nest in boxes positioned over water.

Wrens – Wrens don’t seem to be very picky about where they nest and are a beautiful wild bird to watch rear their young. Try nest boxes with a 1″ x 2″ horizontal slot (larger for the Carolina wren) instead of the standard circle shape entrance as these rectangular openings are easier for the wrens to use. Wrens are notorious for filling up any conceivable nest cavity with twigs, regardless of whether they end up using the nest or not. Since male house wrens build several nests for the female to choose from, hang several nest boxes at eye level on partly sunlit tree limbs. Wrens have always been one of my personal favorites because they are not ‘put off’ by humans being near their homes so they can be poisitioned quite close to the house and are perfect for smaller lots.

Tree and Violet-green Swallows – Beautiful white-bellied birds with iridescent blue-green backs and wing, are a joy to have nearby. They’re also beneficial as they are insect eaters. Tree swallows prefer nest boxes attached to dead trees. Space the boxes seven feet apart, the ideal setting is on the edge of a field near a lake, pond, or river. The gorgeous violet-green swallows from the west, nest in forested mountains. Nesting boxes placed on large trees in a semi-open woodland attracts them.

Barn Swallows and Phoebes – Barn swallows and phoebes are another easy and beneficial bird to attract. It’s their nesting behavior, not their plumage or song, that you’ll fall in love with over and over again. These birds tend to nest where you’d rather not have them: on a ledge right over your front door or at the far entrance to the barn. To avoid a mess by your door, offer the birds a nesting shelf nearby where it’s more convenient and you may get lucky if they prefer it. These birds are not bothered by human activity nearby.

Purple Martins – Many people want martins because, it’s been said, each bird can eat 2,000 mosquitoes a day. While it’s true that Purple Martins eat flying insects, don’t expect purple martins to wipe out your mosquito population. Martins actually prefer dragonflies, which are far more benefical for mosquito control as they prey on mosquito larvae. Don’t cross martins off your list because they don’t live up to their mosquito killing reputation though, these gregarious wild birds from the swallow family put on quite a show for human observers! Martins prefer to nest on the edge of a pond or river, surrounded by a field or lawn. As they nest in groups, the houses you may purchase for a colony are often the most elaborate. Look for a house with a minimum of four large rooms, 6 or more inches on all sides, with a 2 1/2″ entrance hole. You might also like to check out bird house gourds as purple martins seem to prefer these.

Flycatchers – The Great Crested Flycatcher and its western cousin, the Ash-Throated Flycatcher, are common in wooded suburbs. Their natural nesting sites are abandoned woodpecker holes (see note on dead or dying trees above). Flycatchers may nest in a bird house if it’s elevated about ten feet up, in a tree in an orchard, or at the edge of a field or stream.

Woodpeckers – Beautiful and funny wild birds that are easily attracted with suet feeders. However, only the flicker and the red-bellied woodpeckers are likely to use a nesting box to rear their young. These birds prefer a box with roughened interior and a floor covered with a two-inch layer of wood chips or coarse sawdust. Flickers are especially attracted to nest boxes filled with sawdust, which they “excavate” to suit themselves. For best results, place the box in direct sunlight.

Owls – Owls seldom build their own nests. The Great horned Owl and the Long-Eared Owls prefer abandoned crow and hawk nests. Other owls (barred, barn, saw-whet, boreal and screech) will nest in tree cavities and bird houses though. Barn owls are best known for selecting nesting sites near farms. Where trees are sparse, these birds will nest in church steeples, silos, and hay mows. If you live near a farm or a golf course, try fastening a nest box about 15 feet up on a tree trunk to see if you can attract them onto your property (they’re great to keep the rodent population down!). Screech owls prefer abandoned woodpecker holes at the edge of a field or neglected orchard. They will readily take to a nesting box if you line it with an inch or two of wood shavings. If you clean the box out in late spring after the young owls have fledged, you may attract a second tenant–a kestrel. Trees isolated from larger tracts of woods have less chance of squirrels taking over, and often ruining the nesting box.

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“HELP PLEASE I have this yellow finch throwing himself at my window trying to gain access I think. This has been happening for two days, he regains strength overnite and is back this morning. What can I do to stop him. I do not want him to get hurt. Thanks Tina”

After a few emails back and forth with Tina, and a photo she sent me, the bumping bird is definately a male yellow finch.

“Tina:

Put up a curtain. What a nutty bird! Depending on your location it may be mating season. He sees his reflection and he’s likely trying to start a fight to fend off ‘that other yellow finch’ he sees in the reflection of your glass.

Unless you’ve got pet finches inside…and he’s trying to get at them?

If you still can’t shake him off and help him to move on, you might want to call the local animal control unit (usually run by a municipality). They’ll come and relocate him.”

As it turns out Tina has no birds in the house, and has tried drawing the curtain but the yellow finch (an American Goldfinch) keeps flinging himself at the window. It’s a large picture window with a big pine tree butting right up to it.

————

Yes, you’ve got an American Goldfinch there. He’s performing a territorial defense on your window. He thinks your window is another male, and your house has been marked as his territory (in his mind at least) so he’s fighting off the other bird. He won’t stop until early Fall or until he kills himself by bumping into your window.

That is quite a large window (otherwise I’d suggest covering it from the outside until he gets a grip on himself). At some point your window is highly reflective – almost mirror like on his side – likely at a certain point in the day with the sun’s reflections. Have you noticed him doing this at any particular time? Say, for instance that he does this from 3-5 pm you could hang a sheet on the outside of the window for just those few hours every day. As the sun changes position due to the season, this time may change and/or diminish altogether.

I wish I had a quick fix suggestion for you. Some people put stickers on their windows, attach those ugly plastic owls to their windowsills to scare off the wild birds, etc. but these don’t always work. The mirror like reflection and the need to fend for their territory is too great.

Animal control may still come and try to catch him (or give you tips on how to catch him if he knocks himself out – be very careful here) so he can be relocated by the experts. However, chances are pretty good he’ll find his way back, or another will come and do the same thing.

If your property is large, you could maybe distract him and his mate if he has one (they’re monogamous and in the breeding season now), by putting out a wild bird feeder with black sunflower seeds or thistle, far away from the window. I’m thinking that if he has a mate she’s probably nested in that tree right by the window. The eggs incubate for about 10 days, the young in the nest for another 10-17 days, and they may have 2 broods a season.

Hoping some of this information assists you with a solution!

Veronica

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At a later note I received many more emails of this sort. One kind reader told me he picked up a $4 feeder and placed it on the other side of his yard. “This seems to have done the trick,” he said, “the birds are just as pretty to watch over there – without all the tap-tapping at my window!”

If you stop into the discount bird supply store now, you’ll find pretty Finch feeders selling as low as $3.99, with a wide variety to choose from.

Finch Feeders
Finch Magnet Feeders
Thistle Feeders

Hoping this solves your problem too!

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If you’ve never seen these darlings, they look like small brown birds whose heads have been dipped into and stained by a wine, fuschia clothing dye. They are striking, either alone or in small flocks as they light into a tree and have a quick bite to eat on their way to find suitable nesting sites and raise this year’s young.

A few years back we had a few wild cats around our property for about a week. They couldn’t be caught and I knew they’d move on if they didn’t find a food source here so we took measures to ensure that the wild bird feeders were well out of reach.

But before those cats moved on, one of those pretty purple finches was knocked out by the reflection of my truck window parked in the driveway.

He was most certainly in shock and even though they usually come to in a few moments if let be, I scooped him up and placed him in a care cage with a towel over the top to ensure he wasn’t further shocked when he came around.

I’ve done this before with our chickadee visitors (not too often), but most are tame enough here to land on your shoulder or hand to feed.

But when the purple finch came around I was shocked! I’ve never heard such a racket from a wild bird!

When that little finch came to, about 5 minutes later, he squawked and screamed so loud I thought for sure I’d have a migraine in minutes! He did not jump happily on my hand like the chickadees when it was time to set him back out into freedom. So, being careful not to stress him, I had to release the cage top and let him fly out.

The first time I saw these wild birds I wondered why they hadn’t been domesticated like other finches – they are so pretty. Having had one in my house for just a few minutes, now I know why!

Veronica

p.s. It is never advisable to capture wild birds in shock or otherwise and try to tame or keep them. The best course of action is to stand by (at a respectble distance) and ensure they’re safe until they ‘come to’. If you do have to touch a wild bird, use a towel, be very gentle and wash yourself very well after contact and release.

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Search by: wild bird feeders, purple finches, chickadee, wild bird

Now I don’t keep a birding log or journal for my backyard bird visitors – and I’m sad about that this year – because for the first time in years, I feel that something is not right with our wild bird count.

All things the same – the feeders, the frequency of feeding, the type of wild bird feed I put out – and yet the wild birds who frequent is not the same.

Plus, living here in rural Ontario, there is no more competition for the birds in our area (the human population here doesn’t grow). So what is amiss? Could it be the avian flu?

I’ll tell you whom I’ve missed this winter…

Blue Jays

Where I’d been used to their squawks and reminders that the feeder was empty daily, this year we only had one blue jay. One. Usually we have 5-10 regular visits per day.

Chickadees

The numbers were down, but at least they came and brightened each day.

Juncos

The juncos were late and in short supply. This time of year there are usually 20-30 feeding daily for over a month. They finally arrived, and there are only 6 of them.

Gray Jays

We affectionately call these friendly and silly birds Whiskey Jacks. Like the blue jays they’re usually here in good numbers. This winter I’ve seen a total of none. Zero, nilch, nada.

Other Changes

I have noticed other wild birds at the feeder this winter that are not regulars in our area. I’ll tell you more about them, and hopefully have a photo for you, tomorrow.

Cheers!

Veronica

p.s. If you’ve also noticed changes at your feeder this winter, leave a comment below. I’d be interested to hear what region you’re in and what changes you noticed. I think the birding world has been thrown for a whirl this year – what’s happening at your wild bird feeder?

Filed in: Bird Specific, Wild Birds

That link takes you to a page with a Cardinal faucet spigot for your garden hose and a chickadee hose reel, but there’s actually piles more bird inspired, garden art, type products on that site. If you use the search feature for ‘bird’ you’ll find sparrows and chickadees, hummingbirds and more there. These are really nice pieces that fit right into your garden and make it special.

Wow, I just kept clicking through the link at the bottom of the page that says “country living” and I found bird inspired shower curtains too. Like this one that is all song birds – okay, I have to run and see some more, but I did want to tell you about the site and see if you find any great bird lover’s gifts there.

Veronica

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The bluebird has been known over the years as the peace-harbinger. In him the celestial and terrestrial converge. But the bluebird brings more balance than that he is all that is soft, all that is color and light, and he brings with him the promise of spring in one appearance and the retreating of warm weather on the other.

If the bluebird is migratory in your region you’re likely to first spot this gorgeous splash of color on a bright March or April morning. Listening closely you’ll hear him nearby almost as a whisper, so tender and so prophetic, a hope tinged with a regret.

John Barrows said that the bluebird seemed to sing “Bermuda! Bermuda! Bermuda!” but this bird has origins not quite so south. Likely he came from Florida, the Carolinas, or Virginia.

In New England the sap starts running from the sugar maple about the time the bluebird arrives. If you’ve been wondering why I’ve only spoken of the male so far it is because the the males arrive several days before the females. By the time both arrive, they waste no time pairing and prospecting for a place to nest.

The lady bluebird comes with the sparrows, the robins, the phoebe-bird but there’s no mistaking the brilliant blue hue of the first harbingers of spring amidst the brown and gray birds.

The eastern bluebird is slightly larger than the robin. The bluebird has been nicknamed a blue robin, and the red tint on his breast is similar to the red robin, and the mannerisms and habits of the two species are also similar.

There are at least three species of the common bluebird – in New England and it’s neighbours you’ll find the blue jay and the indigo-bird, as well as the eastern bluebird. The indigo bird is the most colorful of them all. I’d be remiss to forget the blue grosbeak, not much behind the indigo in intensity of color.

Now if you live closer to the west coast of the USA or Canada, you’ll still get your own blue birds, albeit the Moutain bluebird. The mountain bluebird is a little different in voice and color.

The Western or Mountain bluebird is considered an altogether distinct species, perhaps a little more brilliant and showy than its Eastern brother; and some fanciers would state that the Mountain bluebird’s voice is more varied, sweeter, and softer. The coloration is more of a dark teal, but the easiest way to tell them apart other than location, is the shoulder of chestnut-red. (If you live even more northern than the region of the Mountain bluebird, you’ll likely find the Arctic bluebird. This bluebird has a a greenish blue on it’s chest, the wings are longer and more pointed.

Bluebird Nesting Habits

The bluebird usually builds its nest in a hole in a stump or stub, or in an old cavity excavated by a woodpecker, but its first impulse seems to be to start in the world in much more style, and the happy pair make a great show of house-hunting about farm buildings, or specifically manufactured bluebird nesting boxes set out by farmer’s wives or avid birders. When no suitable accomodations can be found however, most settle upon the old family stumps and knotholes in remote fields, and go to work in earnest.

Here so close to the ground the bluebird nesters have to worry about two primary predators – snakes and squirrels.

With bluebirds the male is useful as well as ornamental. He is the joyful companion of the female at all times, and when she nests, he feeds her regularly. But it is the female who does most of the work and nesting selection. The male bluebird does accompany her in her work, even seems to cheer her on while she brings in all the material and does all the work of building. The female bluebird enters the nest with her building material, places it, withdraws and waits outside while he goes in and looks it over. On coming out he sings to her, “Bravo!” and away the two go once more for more material.

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