What to put in a birdhouse
Rest assured, setting up a birdhouse for your feathered friends is all that is needed, but you can pre-prepare a box for up to thirteen species who will appreciate it.
What you can put in a birdhouse is wood chippings, and chippings only if its the quality kind. Sawdust cannot be used with other wood material avoided at all costs. Be sure to use anywhere between 2 to 3 inches of lightly filled chippings only - while ensuring the ventilation holes are still functional.
While its possible to use a heap of wood chippings for Owls, Ducks, and Woodpeckers, including a few other common backyard birds, nothing else can be used.
People commonly ask if you put food such as seed inside a birdhouse; but the answer to that is a definite NO - as the birdhouse becomes attracted to predators seeking food.
Only wood chippings is safe enough to place in a birdhouse of any kind, providing its intended for birds that accept a birdhouse pre-filled with chippings.
Among the contenders for adding chippings to their box; is a Kestrel, Barn and Eastern Screech Owls and the Wood Duck.
More common, small backyard birds that nest in birdhouses filled a little way up with wood chippings only, is: Black-Capped Chickadee, White and Red-Breasted Nuthatch and the Tufted Titmouse.
Similarly, you can add chippings to a birdhouse belonging to the Downy, Hairy-Headed and Red-Bellied - all of whom are woodpeckers.
Concern around the addition of wood chippings to a birdhouse is indeed the vents get covered up, as they remain an important requirement in any bird house construction.
Add chipping's to the box via the access point rather than squeezing in wood chips through what can be a small entry hole. Birdhouses must be made accessible at all times to add material like this, with a birdhouse mounted low on a fence and wall - along with an clearing or footpath to reach birdhouses mounted deeper in natural vegetation.
Similarly, a birdhouse that is hung off a tree limb or tree branch must be near to the ground, as you wouldn't want to break the limb or branch while attempting to pile in chipping's, when they really aren't all that important.
Birdhouse material table
| Species: | Material-type: | Quantity: |
|---|---|---|
| American Kestrel | Wood Chips | 3 inches |
| American Robin | No Material | Empty |
| Barn Swallow | No Material | Empty |
| Barred Owl | Wood Chips | 3 inches |
| Bewick's Wren | No Material | Empty |
| Black-Capped Chickadee | Wood Chips | 3 inches |
| Carolina Wren | No Material | Empty |
| Downy Woodpecker | Wood Chips | 2 inches |
| Eastern Bluebird | No Material | Empty |
| Eastern Phoebe | No Material | Empty |
| Eastern Screech Owl | Wood Chips | 3 inches |
| Eurasian Tree Sparrow | No Material | Empty |
| Hairy-Headed Woodpecker | Wood Chips | 2 inches |
| House Finch | No Material | Empty |
| House Sparrow | No Material | Empty |
| House Wren | No Material | Empty |
| Mountain Bluebird | No Material | Empty |
| Northern Flicker | Wood Chips | 2 inches |
| Purple Martin | No Material | Empty |
| Red-Bellied Woodpecker | Wood Chips | 2 inches |
| Red-Breasted Nuthatch | Wood Chips | 3 inches |
| Red-Headed Woodpecker | Wood Chips | 2 inches |
| Tree Swallow | No Material | Empty |
| Tufted Titmouse | Wood Chips | 3 inches |
| Western Bluebird | No Material | Empty |
| Wood Duck | Wood Chips | 3 inches |
| Wood Thrush | No Material | Empty |
| White-Breasted Nuthatch | Wood Chips | 3 inches |
My list of America's top birdhouse nesting birds, of the twenty-eight bird species listed, only thirteen of them will nest in a box with wood chippings placed in their by you.
Simple wood chippings only
Its vital to only use pet standard wood chippings for your birdhouse, providing its good quality with no sharp or dangerous spike-like chippings that often exist in the pack.
Simple wood chippings is all you need to insert in a bird specific birdhouse that is suitable for additional material.
Of course you'd need access to the interior of your bird house, in which you most likely would via the opening hinged roof - or similar via the side or front opening.
You should add the wood chippings in a way that is not too compact, as to create an air tight floor.
Bird houses allow wood chippings providing its functional, yet highly practical floor placed ventilation holes are made accessible at all times.
Wood chippings can get damp, so too many chippings can create a solid block, with dampness not able to escape, and no air ventilation allowed - its a real course for concern when the birdhouse interior cannot function.
Simple wood chippings it is then but only if placed loosely at the bottom of the birdhouse.
Up to 2-3 inches worth
How much, or high high the wood chippings should be piled is entirely based on the size of the birdhouse in question.
Its easy to figure out by eye sight alone as you only need 2 to 3 inches worth every time.
No figuring out the weight of wood chippings either, as you simply insert the chipping as much as 3 inches high, but no more.
Often where a birdhouse is built with no elevated grill at the bottom, its easy to figure out 3 inches only.
With that in mind, where there's an elevated grill to allow ventilation to pass around the birdhouse - the height of the wood chippings should begin when piled on top of the grill.
One inch of wood chippings is also within reason, but a softer, thicker cushion on the base of the birdhouse would be most welcome by many bird house nesting bird species.
Restricted to 13 species
Of the twenty-eight bird species listed above on my table, notice how only thirteen bird species would normally take to a birdhouse filed with fresh wood chippings.
Birds of pray in the Kestrel, Eastern Screech Owl and Barn Owl relate less to most of you, but its a consideration if you are interested in conservation work.
Also included is the Wood Duck who would gladly nest in a wood chipping topped box.
Most common birdhouse nesting birds that relate to suburban backyards would include the Black-Capped Chickadee, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, White-Breasted Nuthatch and the Tufted Titmouse.
If you happen to have a birdhouse setup for any number of woodpeckers, you are in good hands as the species appreciate a wood chipping filled box.
Of the woodpecker family, the Downy, Hairy-Headed, Red-Bellied, Red-Headed and the Northern Flicker can nest in a bird house consisting of chippings.
Other common backyard birds listed such as the Bluebird, Wren and House Finch, are all likely to avoid a birdhouse if you were to put anything in it.
Birdhouses can go without
What you put in a birdhouse must be wood chippings, and wood chippings alone; sawdust is not safe for birds, just as it isn't for people.
If you want to set up a birdhouse in your yard with the best possible chance of attracting the correct bird species to it, you do not have to put anything at all in the box, let alone wood chippings.
Birds appreciate the pre-prepared box offering soft cushion on its base, but in reality birds are happy to begin nesting in an empty box - providing it has all the benefits of a quality built birdhouse.
I can say with confidence you do not have to put anything in your birdhouse, as birds will figure it out for themselves.
With thirteen bird species listed who are well known to nest in a wood chippings filled box, those that are listed as 'No Material' must have a birdhouse left empty.
Sure these same birds could still nest in a box with chippings inside, but research as shown these birds don't take to boxes pre-prepared for them, as it appears the box is occupied or tampered with.
Summarize
What to put in a birdhouse can only be wood chippings, with other wood based material such as sawdust or branches a danger to birds and their young's health.
Refer to my table with what thirteen of the bird species listed would happily accept wood chippings inserted into their box.
This is helped with an approximate amount of wood chippings needed, measured in inches - so there's no need to worry about weighing chippings to use per species.
As a rule, only 2 to 3 inches are needed for any one species, though you can get away with only one inch of chippings lining the base of the birdhouse.
Basic but quality wood chippings is all you need with no poorly packed chippings filled with dangerous sharp chips.
How you line the wood chippings in the birdhouse, via its opening; is to drop the chippings in the box, while avoiding pressing down to create a tight seal.
Birdhouses need ventilation with drilled holes on the base needed for air to pass. That is in addition to these same holes needed to allow dampness to drain.
While only restricted to thirteen species, rest assured you can forget about use of wood chippings or anything else for that matter - as you should be just as successful attracting birds to nest if using nothing at all in the birdhouse.
Birds are fully capable of creating their own nest from scratch, thus wood chippings are really not needed at all.
What you put in a birdhouse can only be quality wood chippings, and nothing else at all.
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