Bird Houses Basics
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios

Even though there are about 650 species of birds in North America, only eighty-five of those are cavity nesters. Cavity nesting birds construct their nest within an enclosed space, be it a hollow in a tree trunk, nest box, or even an old shoe. In recent times many species of cavity nesting birds have declined because of habitat reduction. In the eastern United States, where primeval forests have vanished, purple martins depend almost entirely on man-made nest boxes. Nest boxes (or bird houses) are man-made structures provided for wild and domestic birds to nest in.

Luring birds to your backyard bird houses is a lot like fishing. You need to employ the right gear and need plenty of patience. Amateur birders often select bird houses based on their looks, and not functionality. However, the avian species is not that "birdbrain". Birds don't select their nests by our perception of beauty, but opt for a house based on criteria much different from ours. Just because you mount a nest box in a tree doesn't necessarily mean birds will prefer it. It is astonishingly difficult to lure most bird species into man-made structures. Even the colors you paint your house will affect its habitability. Most birds generally prefer natural muted hues, although purple martins are attracted to white.

To attract birds, proper placement of the box is critical. Nest boxes must be perched the right height above the ground and placed in the right habitat. Furthermore, there must be a clear path to the entrance and the nest box put up should closely correlate with the species you want to nest there. For instance, you won't get a kestrel to nest in a house designed for a bluebird. So build the structure according to the size of the bird you wish to attract and place it in a site that closely resembles its preferred habitat. Since some bird species are extremely territorial, they will not tolerate other birds in the same vicinity; therefore predefine how many bird houses to put up.

Remember, installing bird houses on your property does not essentially guarantee their occupancy, but odds are good that sooner or later some species will dwell in one.

BIG Mike is a well known author, developer and Adsense expert as well as the owner of Niche Maniacs - a unique Adsense Marketing System designed to build long-term passive income streams from Adsense, Amazon, YPN, Chitika and other PPC services.