Stuck inside? It's a good time to build a bird house

The winter project can pay off during the spring and summer.

Southeast Missourian

A small investment of lumber, nails and a little elbow grease to build bird houses can pay off in an activity to cure the winter blues and provide bird-watching enjoyment throughout the spring and summer

"Missouri has 26 species of cavity nesters, or birds that nest inside a hole in a tree trunk or limb," said Brad Jacobs, ornithologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation. "These birds, which include bluebirds, warblers, wrens, chickadees and tufted titmice, will readily use nest boxes. If you live in an urban area or along a stream where many of the old or dead trees have been removed, you'll attract birds that you can enjoy watching throughout their nesting period." Building or refurbishing bird houses now will ensure they are ready for occupancy when birds arrive this spring.

To provide nesting habitat for the early birds of spring, put up houses for purple martins. The largest of the swallows, purple martins are named for the glossy bluish purple appearance of adult males. The first males to arrive are called "scouts." They appear in southern Missouri around mid-March and reach the northern part of the state a week or so later.

Although martins historically nested in rock crevices and hollow trees, the birds have adapted to houses provided by humans and now depend almost entirely on them. One way to attract nesting martins is to suspend several gourds from cross-pieces on a pole. The most common purple martin house is the apartment-style box. Instructions to create both type houses are included in the Missouri Department of Conservation booklet "Missouri's Purple Martins." Missouri's state bird, the Eastern bluebird, lays eggs as early as April 1, so January is a good month to put out birdhouses for them. Bluebird nest boxes can get a lot of use as bluebirds sometimes raise three broods a year.

Knowing where to place a bird house is as important as knowing when to put one up according to Jacobs.

"Cats and other predators must always be considered when putting up bird houses," said Jacob. "When young birds first leave the nest they are going to hit the ground. If a nest box is placed where there is no cover, the birds will be easy prey. When putting up bird houses, place them in areas where rough vegetation or shrubs grow, or let the grass beneath it grow tall." Placement also can help determine the species attracted to a bird house. Houses designed for bluebirds often are used by other birds when placed in habitat undesirable to bluebirds. A bluebird house placed 10 to 15 feet above the ground in a wooded area may be used by wrens, chickadees or titmice. The same house placed on a pole or in a dead tree could get tree swallows or prothonotary warbles as occupants.

"If you live along a stream and want to enjoy bird watching I suggest you put up a nest box," Jacob said. There's a good chance that a prothonotary warbler will occupy it. It's a brilliant gold bird that's just beautiful. But there's also a chance you'll get a flying squirrel." Twigs and other old nest material can harbor parasites that plague young bluebirds, so remove the old nest between broods.