Published in Caledon Living Summer 2010 ed.
Charming as the impromptu birds nests are this time of year, the interests of our feathered friends, in addition to aesthetics, can be better served by the instillation of a bird house in the backyard rather than a mess on the back porch. The birdhouse is designed to be an aesthetically pleasing haven, made for the bad weather and bird health, and any range of designs serve the same purpose.
There are some basic things to keep in mind when selecting a birdhouse: namely, cleanliness, ventilation, and water-proofing. Maintaining an even temperature and good air-flow is accomplished by vent holes at the tops of walls, and a slanted roof overhang of at least three inches prevents water seepage. However, drilling some holes in the floor of your birdhouse will further allow water to escape during rainfall. Additionally, avoiding houses with metal roofs—or at least putting these in the shade—prevents over-heating in summer, and putting nesting boxes in a sheltered area out of all-day sun is paramount. In warm weather, parasites breed in unclean and unventilated birdhouses, so choosing the appropriate location and design will cut down on cleaning efforts. A well-designed house should have a removable roof or panel for easy cleaning. For the safety of the birds, it’s best to avoid houses that have a perch or platform outside the entrance hole. Predator animals can use this as support for raiding the nest, and it encourages young birds to venture out of the nest before they are ready to fly.
To attract certain bird species over others, there are a few tricks of the trade that can be employed. Some birds are attracted to natural over weathered wood (but make sure in any case that water-based paint is used for the exterior of the house). Choosing a nesting box and an entrance hole appropriate to the size of the desired bird will also help. Chickadees, nuthatches, and downy woodpeckers prefer a diameter entrance of 3.1 cms and an interior dimension of 10 x 20 cms, while bluebirds, swallows, and sparrows prefer 3.8 and 13 x 25, respectively. Furthermore, some species prefer houses in shrubs to open areas and vice versa. To attract an ultimate population, there should only be only one house per tree, with an approximate total of five per acre. Bird houses should be located away from bird feeders in order to attract a denser population.
In terms of bird feeders, a beautiful line of window feeders comes from a Kitchener couple, Carol and Jim Moore, are constructed from glass and brass, meaning they can be used year-round and will not deteriorate from bad weather. They are fastened to the window by three ultra-violet protected suction cups designed to hold nine pounds, which is further reinforced be a wire when fastened to a window. The “squirrel baffling” model is the most popular, which has a solid brass grillwork across the front, preventing most squirrels from getting at the birdseed on the inside. This design especially attracts smaller species such as finches, chickadees, nuthatches, and cardinals while deterring the larger scavenger birds. When positioned outside a large window, squirrels are unable to reach it because they cannot climb glass. Mooredesign also has a line of hummingbird houses, which are made of brightly coloured glass (which is what attracts the birds and are guaranteed never to fade), which are simple to refill and maintain by lifting out the bottle in the centre. A simple hummingbird nectar recipe consists of 1 part sugar, 4 parts water, mixed and boiled in a saucepan while stirring. No need to add toxic food colouring, as the colour of the glass itself serves to attract the birds. All Mooredesign’s feeders range between forty and ninety-five dollars.
In addition to hummingbirds, you can attract butterflies to your garden with the butterfly feeders available from The Weathervane in Erin for $29.95 each. Butterflies can only interpret the colours red, green, and yellow, so any constructions using these colours will be more likely to bring in populations of papilionis. They use their antennas to smell and feet to taste, so these butterfly feeder designs take the form of open crystal flowers that work by collecting rainwater. Simply place the stake-holder in a place where the flower is clearly visible and receives direct sun. The crystal in the petals absorb sunlight and emit a warm glow for a few hours after sunset, for added charm to your garden at night.