Anythingbirds Blog

Have you ever wanted to build your own birdhouse? I know whenever I look at beautiful, ornate birdhouses, I always admire them and even want to build my own. But let’s face it – taking on a project of that magnitude is not an easy task, even for experienced woodworkers. What I do instead is make gourd birdhouses, and I will tell you why.

You Can Grow Gourds Yourself

You can grow gourds in your garden much like you would grow pumpkins or squash. This gives you the opportunity to oversee your gourd birdhouse project from a little seed up to the finished project.

While it is fun to get this involved in a project, I must warn you – it can take a full year for your gourd to grow and mature to the point where you can turn it into a birdhouse!

Gourds Are Already Shaped Like Birdhouses

Many varieties of gourds grow into shapes and sizes that are perfect for birdhouses. They are generally round with plenty of interior space. That means most of the work is done for you!

Few Tools Are Required

Not everyone has the tools or woodworking skills to create an elaborate birdhouse. If that describes you, a gourd birdhouse could be the perfect choice.

You do have to do some work to turn a gourd into a birdhouse, but it is much less than with the ornate birdhouses I mentioned earlier. All that is really required is drilling a main entrance hole, drilling drainage holes in the bottom, and adding a wire to the top for hanging.

Gourds Have Built-In Nesting Materials

Much like a pumpkin, a gourd is full of pulp and seeds. As a gourd dries out and the shell hardens, the insides dry out. You can leave these fibers inside the gourd because the birds will use them when building their nest.

Gourds Are Unique

Wouldn’t you hate it if your neighbor put up the same type of birdhouse as you?

Well, gourds are still relatively uncommon in the USA, so not many people are going to have gourd birdhouses in their yards. Even if someone has a gourd birdhouse, you can build your birdhouse out of a different type of gourd, maintaining your uniqueness.

Those are five reasons you should consider using a gourd for your homemade birdhouse. Now it is time to find some gourd seeds or dried gourds and you can start crafting!

Martha Bloom grows and crafts gourds of all shapes and sizes, which you can see on her website MarthasGourds.com. Of all the ready-to-craft gourds she makes, the birdhouse gourds are the most popular.

Bird watching is a fun activity. In fact, it has become a major past time for some people. There are different types of birds and each type is accustomed to a specific environment. If you want to see birds flock to your house then one way to do so would be to build a birdhouse. Here are three types of bird houses for your backyard.

Classic birdhouse. This type of birdhouse has only a single compartment. This appeals to woodpeckers and Flycatchers – birds which don’t need to nest with others. Woodpeckers don’t build nests for their eggs so it would be a good idea to put in straw or woodchips to protect them.

Open birdhouse. The open birdhouse is the simplest birdhouse to build. It consists of a square slab of wood with a roof. This is good for many types of birds because they can just come and build their nests here. Instead of building on a tree they can come and build at your backyard. The disadvantage of this type of birdhouse is that it is too open which makes the birds vulnerable to other animals and insects in the neighborhood.

Multi-compartment birdhouse. If you want to see a variety of birds nesting at your backyard, build a multi-compartment birdhouse. This kind of birdhouse has several compartments to allow a lot of birds to nest here. Keep in mind that the birdhouse should be slanted to permit rainwater to drain. The holes should also be big enough to permit birds of different sizes to use it.

When it comes to building bird houses, ensure that there is enough ventilation. A birdhouse that doesn’t have ventilation will suffocate the birds. To ensure that a lot of birds will come flocking to your birdhouse make it a daily habit to put food and water inside the birdhouse. Sooner or later you’ll have daily visitors flocking to your backyard.

*“*Amy C. is an interior decoration aficionado and online marketer. She
also likes testing and trying new home and office decorating themes. In
addition to being an interior decoration hobbyist, she enjoys designing
calming solar fountains and glass art. Amy invites you to browse her delightful collection of glass vases.