A Different Drummer: Birdhouse building binge briefs

I’ve come up with a DIY approach to gift giving this year. The evolution of this bright idea began two years ago when two small birds built a nest in the upper corner of our back porch roof where cozy beams meet the post.
Susan and I got to recline in our afternoon deck chairs and watch the birdies work. We witnessed the whole process from first discovery, through the bringing of twigs and straw, to the hatching, constant feeding, and growth of the chicks.
Once the chicks arrived, instinctively several neighborhood cats began casually lounging in our backyard. I built a spikey cat baffle and stood guard on occasion.
On the day the chicks flew, the family moved on. The nest went empty. I had to dismantle it.
That event alone didn’t inspire Christmas 2017. It remained actively dormant in the pleasant-memory regions of our brains. Then this summer another pair of loving birds began building a house on our house, this time, in the upper crook of our front porch.
Unfortunately, this home building didn’t work for them or us. They positioned their nest directly beside my solar motion light. Their nocturnal movements, and some waving shrubbery nearby, caused the light to go on and off all night long. The expecting birds moved on and left me the mess.
That event alone didn’t inspire gift giving either, but the notion was building. It did inspire me to go to Amazon Prime and order a basic $23 wooden birdhouse. When it arrived, I was impressed with the simple design: six cuts of wood from the same cedar plank and twelve screws.
I wanted to replicate the design and build one myself, for fun and so I’d have two birdhouses, one for front and back for visits from future feathered friends.
I sketched out each cut, made measurements, drove to Home Depot and bought one eight-foot 1” x 6” board for $7.89. I chose pine over cedar for two reasons. One comes from research that told me the cedar scent has to wear off through long weathering and not to expect birds for a season or two. The other reason was that pine was cheaper and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. Research told me that pine could be preserved using non-toxic, water-based paints and stains.
Back in my garage, I hauled down my chop saw, marked and cut the six pieces and screwed them together. Wow, I made my first birdhouse in less than an hour. Half the pine board remained. I built the second birdhouse in 30 minutes, including sanding the cuts.
After much research I drilled the entrance holes to an inch and a half. Every bird has its optimum entrance diameter, and one house can’t accommodate all birds, so mine are middle-road holes.
There is a perch controversy. With or without? If a house has a perch below the entrance, predatory birds may land and peck inside. Conversely, without a perch, birds carrying nesting branches may have difficulty landing in the hole. Research was done. Predatory use was minimal. Utilitarian use was frequent. I drilled the holes. The eventual owners can tap nails or wooden dowels into them if they wish.
Standing there in my garage, hands on my hips, three birdhouses lined up before me, admiring my handiwork, I realized I would need to give one away, but to whom? That instant was when I got the Christmas notion. Birdhouses for everybody!
Back to Home Depot I drove and picked up three more planks for a whopping $24. Two-inch deck screws by the box were costly, but each birdhouse only needs 12. The final purchase was a roll of green Frog Tape ®.
At Michaels, I bought a few tubes of non-toxic acrylic craft paint – green, brown, yellow, red — and bottle of acrylic finish. In my garage I set up an artist’s studio – a chair, a table, brushes, paints, scissors, razor knife, tape, and ventilation. The head scratching began as I searched for inspiration. How shall I paint thee?
Research and a visit to Etsy had shown me that birdhouses can be a rainbow of colors in artistic detail, or they can be basic. Birds don’t care much about cute painted tulips and daises. Safety is on their minds. Don’t paint cats or hawks! They prefer camouflage and light-colored, heat-reflective roofs.
Fearing my freehand, I used green-tape cutouts to stencil simple trees with limbs and twisting vines. The tape covered everything that was not a tree or vine, and then I painted over the tape with my browns, greens and yellows. A few hours later I peeled away the Frog Tape® and underneath was art. Finally, a protective non-toxic coat of water-based acrylic finish was applied to the entire exterior.
Six birdhouses are now finished. That covers everyone on my Santa list. Two are elaborate stencils of trees with forked branches and sunlight glimmering on the grass, built for human families with kids. Two are simple limb stencils, brown on brown, built for human empty nesters. Two are covered with only a light water-base stain. They’re mine.
I have enough wood for two more. If I get positive feedback on the existing batch as to their effective use by actual birds in a field-test environment, I may go a little wild. Otherwise, I have firewood.