How does a Birdhouse work
Birdhouses which must be made in wood, are tough boxes that are constructed in a certain way, with specific features that draw in different birdhouse birds.
How does a birdhouse work exactly relies more on where its placed, and the way its built, to attract certain wild bird species. Birdhouses are ready to be mounted on a post or tree trunk, yet it isn't made to be hung. Birdhouses feature an opening hinged door, with drainage/vent holes on the floor.
Its simple, you take a wooden birdhouse to be mounted to a place in your yard where you wish for it to spend its time during the spring.
Birdhouses only work if they remain stabilized in said location, thus it must be a birdhouse you can screw or nail too a vertical surface like a post or tree - as oppose to suspending it off a moving tree branch.
Better idea would be to hang a birdhouse from a tree limb to keep it very still, with an option to push the box nearer to the tree trunk, but suspended in a way its flush against it.
Birds don't take their nesting site likely, like they would in nature, thus its important to make sure the birdhouse can never move during its use.
Birdhouses can attract species with success or actually keep other birds away.
Birds are attracted to a specific size birdhouse, with the internal measurements encouraging, or discouraging wild birds.
Birdhouse requirements will mostly included a specific entrance hole size, which is how certain birds fit in a birdhouse yet won't be accessible to others.
Hidden features within a wooden birdhouse will include drainage holes, which are also used as ventilation holes to keep the box cool, while possibly avoiding condensation.
Birdhouses can be a bad idea when such features aren't included, though with a wooden box you can drill the holes yourself, if they aren't featured prior to buying it.
Remember, birdhouses are for specific bird species only, so you won't be able to do much about unintended birds nesting in your box. Similarly, you must always keep cats and other predators out of reach of the birdhouse, if you are ever going to see success.
Ready to mount
First of all, you should know any store-bought birdhouse will be ready to be put up in your yard, as soon as you bring it home.
What else you should know is these same birdhouses won't always be supplied with all the fixings you need to put it up on a wall, fence or post - as you would in case of a Bluebird house, which is mounted to a tall post.
How you mount a birdhouse on a post, would be by driving in a screw on the mount-point, to then hook the birdhouse on this same partially drilled in screw, where the pre-drilled hole is always centered in the back of the birdhouse.
With that in mind, remember these birdhouses are built to be installed on a flat vertical surface, not a tree where birdhouses can also be mounted.
Mounted birdhouses require a screw to hook it on, whereas to install a birdhouse on a tree, you will need additional accessories like rope or wire to safely strap the birdhouse to the tree trunk.
People also like to hang a birdhouse, and although this technique doesn't see a lot of success when it comes too attracting wild birds to a hanging birdhouse - you'll need to find your own way to make it work.
Featured clean out door
How a birdhouse works is it must be made to be used again and again, and therefore is a reusable birdhouse, as oppose to a use once and throw away gimmick.
With that, any type of birdhouse must have a clean out door as the most important feature on a birdhouse. Why that is, because it will provide you the opportunity to clean out your Bluebird house come September, or later.
Birdhouses only functionality is indeed this swing open hinged door that opens at the front, the side, or the roof may open or lift off all together.
Once this birdhouse door is open, it should provide you enough space for you to put your hand in, to pull out old nesting material.
Only then would you begin the process of cleaning the birdhouse with a simple dish soap solution, which is usually followed by scraping off the filth around the interior walls.
Birdhouses will work if birds can nest in what is essentially a safe wooden box, and with that you'll find you can go rough on the box when you clean it.
Hidden interior secrets
How does a birdhouse work exactly is it must provide several specific features, that will in turn get the attention of the species of wild birds its intended to attract.
Example of what makes a Bluebird house a Bluebird house, is it must have a specific size entry hole - which is a rounded hole that is approximately 17mm, or one and a half inches.
This same box must also have a 4 by 4 inch floor, and be approximately 10 inches tall.
Once more, the Bluebird house must be located in a lit up area, where it will be mounted to a wooden post, or possibly a tree trunk.
Now, what applies to all birdhouses that are made to attract all birdhouse birds, is what is featured inside the box.
What absolutely must be drilled in to the floor of each birdhouse, are a number of drainage holes which also act as birdhouse ventilation holes, to help circulate the air in warmer months, or prevent condensation build up any other time.
What else may be featured in a wooden birdhouse, are what are called fledgling skerfs, which lead up to the entry/exit hole, internally. Featured skerfs are often how baby birds exit a birdhouse, as they use the grooves to cling on to.
Finally, expect the interior of a birdhouse to not be painted or stained, as producers feel the paint or stain risks being ingested by the baby birds.
Birds naturally attracted to house
Thankfully, there isn't much you can do to attract wild bird to a newly put up birdhouse, as nature will find a way, so to speak.
Absolutely where you put a birdhouse must be in an environment specific to the wild bird species' needs, and therefore the birds you intend to attract to your box.
Birdhouses won't guarantee nesting or roosting birds, thus its vital to place a birdhouse in the correct area of the yard. With that, you still may not actually have a suitable location within your yard to place a birdhouse... so that's something to think about.
How wild birds find a birdhouse, which will be attractive to wild birds who nest in crevices in trees, just as a birdhouse now is. That will mean then open cup nest birds like American Robins, won't use birdhouses for this very reason.
Do allow plenty of time for birds in the neighborhood to find your birdhouse, where it must always be visible, yet undisturbed for the duration of the nesting season.
Birdhouses work to provide a home for wild birds for a few months, thus this box must be left unmolested.
With that, cats or predators will in time investigate a birdhouse, occupied with adult birds, eggs or with their young. That is why its important to buy a birdhouse with a predator guard attached.
This way all predators are kept away from the entry hole which is where they intend to access the box, to do harm to the occupants.
Summary
What you must know about a birdhouse, is it will be ready to be mounted if you bought it online or in-store.
Birdhouses feature a pre-drilled center positioned hole in the back of the house, where it will hook on to a drill or nail that is must already be screwed or nailed on to the wooden post or fence, where you wish to place the birdhouse.
To correctly use a birdhouse, you must use it as one that mounts to a solid, vertical surface like a wooden post or tree trunk.
When you intend to hang a birdhouse, bear in mind many birdhouse birds will prefer to avoid such an unstable home, and so will prefer to avoid what is a wooden box that will swing in any gust or wind.
Only functionality on a wooden birdhouse is that of a hinged door, which is used for you to place your hand in to pull out old nesting material - while at the same time you can use this access point as a way to clean the birdhouse interior.
Birdhouses do have a few hidden features within the box, including drainage/ventilation holes on a birdhouse floor, plus what appears to be grooves leading up to the entrance hole. What are called fledgling skerfs, these grooves are used for baby birds to cling on to as they exit what could be a too deep birdhouse depth.
Birds will find birdhouses naturally if indeed its placed in the area that matches the suitability of the wild bird its intended to attract.
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