Beautiful cottage. Development of a training case on the topic "birdhouse" On which trees is it better to hang a birdhouse

Not everyone knows how to hang a birdhouse correctly. Although people often catch themselves thinking that it would be nice to arrange a home for birds near their home. The reasons for such a desire can be very diverse. Birds help gardeners and gardeners fight pests. Some people like to listen to them sing. Others simply enjoy watching their feathered friends.

Making and installing a birdhouse together with children is a very important stage in raising a child. But often, for some reason, not everyone succeeds even in such a simple task. It seems that the birdhouse is beautifully made and secured securely, and the birds avoid it. What's the matter? How to properly hang a bird house? Let's try to answer this question.

It has long been noticed that some birds very easily respond to an invitation from a person to live nearby. This is especially true for those birds that like to make a nest in an enclosed space. Human economic activity has led to a decrease in the number of shelters suitable for our little friends. Therefore, many birds no longer use only hollows, but also any suitable cavity to build a nest. It’s good that there are caring people trying to make up for the shortage of hollows in nature. By hanging birdhouses, you can not only restore, but often increase the number of certain bird species. These primarily include everyone's favorite starlings and tits.

The answer to the question about when to hang bird houses is the simplest: you can always hang birdhouses. All year round there are birds that need shelter, where they can spend the night, take shelter from bad weather, hide from enemies, and store food supplies for a rainy day. If you also want to see bird offspring, then you can hang houses in early spring, even before the starlings arrive. Usually this is the period from the end of March or from the first days of April.

At the same time, ornithologist experts say that the best time to install birdhouses is not spring at all, but autumn. The fact is that birds are very careful creatures that choose reliable, calm and secluded places for their homes. Therefore, a new house made of fresh boards, often brightly painted, arouses mistrust and suspicion. It is for this reason that birdhouses that are hung in the spring often remain empty in the first year. But in the fall, almost all of them quickly become inhabited by feathered hosts. This is also facilitated by the cold, when any shelter becomes a lifesaver for little birds who are not afraid to stay in our area for the winter.

The answer to the question of how to hang a birdhouse is more complicated. There are some subtleties here that you should definitely pay attention to. The most important thing is that the bird’s home should be at a height of at least 3 m from the ground. If you plan to place a birdhouse on a residential multi-story building, then no higher than the 4th or 5th floor. You need to understand that the birds will inevitably be disturbed by light, noise, temperature changes, and wind. A house installed too high will be dangerous for young chicks. But, of course, it is better to place birdhouses in gardens, parks, and forest belts. The tree must be strong and healthy. The best height is about 7-9 m.

The front part should have a slight slope forward so that rain does not flood the nest through the entrance. It is also important to prevent the bird house from overheating from the direct rays of the midday sun. To do this, the birdhouse must be correctly oriented to the cardinal points. It is best if the entrance is directed to the east or southeast. In the European part of Russia, the entrance should not be directed to the north or northeast, since it is from these directions that the damp cold wind most often blows, often with rain. The branches should not touch the front side, otherwise sooner or later the cat will get to the birds. Of course, never nail a birdhouse to a living tree!

When attaching the bird house to the base, it is easy to do without nails. The best way is to tie the pole on which the birdhouse is fixed with ordinary soft wire. In this case, it is advisable to place narrow wooden blocks up to 3-4 cm thick under it. Over time, as the tree grows, the wire will grow into the blocks, but not into it. You can also make a hook on the back wall and install the birdhouse on a thick horizontal branch not far from the main trunk of the tree.

Sometimes there may not be trees of the required height and strength on the site. The solution is very simple - install a long pole! A birdhouse is fixed at one end, and the other is attached to a solid base. For example, to a fence post. Due to the fact that birds are well aware of the strength of materials, the entire structure must be strong and reliable. No birds will be tempted by rotten wood or a thin and flexible pole that can be broken by the wind.

The birdhouse must be securely strengthened, but it must be possible to remove it for routine inspections and cleaning. It is imperative to protect houses from cats. This must be provided for in the design itself. The small entrance does not allow the cat to get inside, and the significant depth does not allow the cat to reach the bottom with its paw. One of the most reliable means of protection is a circle of plywood with a diameter of 40 cm. It is attached in the middle of a pole, and it is an almost insurmountable barrier for mustachioed and striped predators.

As a general rule, bird nesting boxes should not be placed next to each other. This is due to the fact that many species of birds protect not only their nest, but also a certain territory around it. For example, the radius of the “territorial defense” zone of the pied flycatcher is about 20 m, but the great tit will not tolerate competitors closer than 50, or even 60 m.

Design requirements

Having figured out when to hang a birdhouse, it is impossible to avoid the question of what it should look like. An ordinary bird house is made from a well-dried board with a thickness of 1.5 cm. There should be no cracks in it, and it should not be planed on the inside. The outside of the house may not be painted. True, recently brightly colored birdhouses are appearing more and more often.

Accurate adherence to dimensions is very important, since they determine the future owner of the nest and the conditions of his living there. A classic birdhouse has dimensions of 25-30 x 13-15 x 13-15 cm and a round entrance of 4.7-5 cm. Such a home can be occupied not only by a starling, but also by a large tit, woodpecker, sparrow or swift. Among smaller birds, including songbirds, the titmouse is very popular. Its dimensions: 22-28 x 10-11 x 10-11 cm with a smaller diameter entrance: 3.2-3.5 cm. Such housing will appeal to the pied flycatcher, nuthatch, garden redstart, tits, sparrows and some other birds . The roof should be made pitched. It should fit snugly against the walls of the house, but at the same time be easily removable. This is necessary to clean the bird’s home in the fall, at the end of the summer season and after the birds fly away for the winter to warmer climes. Birds do not need any decorations or bright details at all; they get along just fine without them.

You need to understand that a bird house should appeal primarily to birds, not people. The best home for them is an unpainted box made of unplaned boards with the smallest possible entrance and a deep bottom.

Even the classic perch in front of the entrance is completely unnecessary for the birds.

The reason is simple - a predator or enemy can sit there, which will find it much more convenient to hunt the owners of the birdhouse.

Necessary afterword

In addition, you need to understand that fulfilling all the above conditions does not guarantee that the birdhouse will definitely be occupied by birds. The occupancy of a house is influenced by many factors, not all of which have been sufficiently studied. Therefore, if you want to attract feathered friends to your home or garden, you should make several copies of bird shelters and hang them in different places.

After placing the birdhouses, you should try to go more often to observe them in order to see exactly where and what kind of birds have settled, how they behave, and whether there are any threats to them. When hatching chicks, you should not get too close to the bird’s nest, much less inspect it. It is best to do this from a distance from cover and not disturb the owners. Modern technology allows this without much effort. The information that will be collected during observations will make it possible to improve the design of nests next year and choose the best places to hang birdhouses.

It is very interesting to watch how birds live. When a person manages to build a house suitable for them and place it successfully, this will not only benefit the garden or vegetable garden, significantly reducing the number of pests, but will also give the whole family wonderful moments while contemplating the lives of our little hardworking neighbors and helpers.

Don’t lose the opportunity to do a good and useful deed - hang your birdhouse for the birds!

Those who move to live outside the city, or those who have a summer house, sooner or later may have the desire to hang a birdhouse. We will try to talk a little about how to properly hang a birdhouse in the yard or on your own property.

When

First, about the time when you can already think about installing a birdhouse. The optimal time to install a birdhouse is early April. At this time, birds begin to actively look for nesting places, and your efforts can be rewarded almost instantly.

Where

Birds are looking for safety and comfort, which means you need to hang the birdhouse at a height of about 3-4 meters if it is a quiet and peaceful place (cottage, park, village) and higher if it is a city (that is, noise and traffic). In addition, do not forget that predators (for example cats) begin their hunt for chicks in the spring. Thus, by installing the birdhouse incorrectly, for example, low or in a place easily accessible to predators, you expose future chicks to great risk! Before placing a birdhouse low in a tree where a cat can easily reach it, consider safety precautions. For example, you can install a birdhouse on a stick or board.
The cat will not start hunting if it is not easy to get to the birdhouse, and if the birdhouses are made correctly, the risks will be minimal.

How

The entrance (entrance) must be oriented in the direction opposite to the prevailing winds. That is, if northwestern and western winds predominate in your country, then you need to try to hang the birdhouse with its entrance facing east and southeast. As a result, the wind, which in the spring can be accompanied by rain or snow, will annoy the chicks less.

If you do not live in Siberia, then you can think about the shade. Indeed, on some especially hot sunny days, birds may not be comfortable in the sun.

We protect from precipitation: place the birdhouse strictly vertically or with a slight slope forward, but in no case backwards (in addition to the possibility of sediment penetrating inside, this will complicate the chicks’ climbing to the exit).

Also, do not forget that once a year it is advisable to clean the birdhouse and, if necessary, repair it, and for this it will be advisable to remove it. Keep this in mind when installing bird houses.

We do everything right

Most often, the process of installing a birdhouse goes like this:

1. A wooden stick or plank is attached (nailed with nails) to the back wall of the birdhouse. Using this board, the birdhouse is attached to the tree. In order not to damage it, it is better to tie the birdhouse with a rope or braid. If you use wire, it is better to put something under it. Try to secure it so that the entrance to the birdhouse is not easily accessible via large branches.

2. You don’t have to attach the stick if you tie the braid around the birdhouse itself (for convenience, you can screw self-tapping screws into the sides of the birdhouse). Then tie it tightly to the tree trunk.

3. You can also hang a birdhouse on a building. This method greatly depends on the material of the walls. In a wooden house you can simply secure it with self-tapping screws, but with brick or plastic you will have to tinker. Birdhouses weigh from 2 to 5 kg, including offspring, so there is no need to look for a particularly strong base.

4. Sometimes birdhouses are mounted on high poles. But this is not always safe (wind, sun). If installed on a long pole, it is advisable to provide jibs or braces; this will prevent unwanted swinging and destruction of birdhouses. The lives of the chicks are at stake!

5. It’s up to you to paint or not paint birdhouses. What matters to birds is how the birdhouse is located and whether it is comfortable, not its color. And a person is most often pleased when a birdhouse is unusual, so why not). It is best to paint with acrylic paints and water-based impregnations.

Starlings and people always live together. Haven't you noticed? When we got our dacha, which was twenty years ago, there were no starlings in the area. Now, every spring is unthinkable without starlings.

Arriving at the site for the May holidays, you inevitably look with your eyes: where are our harbingers of spring? And here they are, right there, as if they were waiting for your appearance. Swift flight, breathtaking gliding - and a charming bird trustingly walks on the grass just a few steps away from you.

At such moments, you especially acutely feel your guilt for not hanging a birdhouse or making a feeder on time. However, it is never too late to do this. Birdhouse /Skvorduplo2.JPG can be bought or made - whatever you can do.

And now let’s get down to the most important thing - how to hang a birdhouse correctly? The question is far from idle. Everyone knows that not every birdhouse houses birds. It would seem that everything was done as it should: the birdhouse is new, durable, without leaks, the best place was chosen... but the starlings do not live. It remains to be blamed for the fact that he hung it incorrectly. Let's figure it out: how to do it right?

I read a lot of literature about birdhouses and came across good recommendations.

Height

• The installation height is no more than 3-4 m. This is explained by the fact that it is not necessary to force the starling to fly up to high altitudes with food for the chicks over and over again.
• The installation height can be higher if it suits the situation. For example, the desired height (3 - 4 m) is completely overgrown with bushes, which means you can place the birdhouse higher.
• Is it possible lower? Of course you can. But in any case, you need to evaluate the comfort of the approach and safety from cats and birds of prey, from your household and possible guests, as well as from the persistent curiosity of children.
• I also installed the birdhouse at a height of 6 m (I really liked the place on the gable of the house: dry, warm, protected from the wind). The starlings immediately took a fancy to it, although a birdhouse hung nearby at a more “correct” height of 3 m. This “correct” birdhouse remained without a housewarming that year.

Taphole direction

• All sources categorically state - to the south, southeast, well, in extreme cases, to the east, that is, towards sunrise. I agree with them.
• Is it possible in the other direction? I can say with confidence that it is possible. I once installed a birdhouse in the direction of the northeast (don’t think that it was for an experiment - it happened by accident), and the starlings quickly occupied it.

What to attach to

• To a tree - if the thickness of the trunk is sufficient to support the weight of this house.
• To the wall of a house or utility block, if permissible.
• To a special pole, if there is no other place or there is nothing suitable in a convenient place on the site. The pole can be attached, for example, to a fence post. The thickness of the pole should be taken with a reserve so that in a strong wind it does not sway along with the birdhouse. One day, I installed a birdhouse on a beautiful pole only 4 cm thick. The starlings settled in, and a week later, after a strong wind, they left the nest... It was so sad.

Vertical tilt

• Be sure to make sure that the birdhouse is tilted slightly forward. Then it will be easier for the starlings to get out of it.
• If you tilt it back, the starlings may die altogether.

How to fasten

• The most humane (for wood) method is to use a wire or nylon rope threaded through holes in the side walls.
• The most reliable (for starlings) are good self-tapping screws.

Thus, you now know everything to hang a birdhouse correctly. However, nature is good because it does not obey any laws. I have had cases more than once when starlings did not want to occupy the most “correct” birdhouse. And, on the contrary, they settled in places where it would seem completely impossible. Don't despair, just hang more birdhouses. In any case, birds will live in them, even if they are not starlings.

Having a summer cottage or garden plot at your disposal, it is necessary to take care of green spaces and fight numerous pests that can completely destroy them. However, no drug can fight pests as effectively as song starlings.

These birds not only constantly destroy a huge number of pests (according to research, a pair of starlings can protect approximately 45 fruit trees from insects), but also delight with excellent singing, especially in the morning. And for this you don’t need so much - make or buy a birdhouse for birds and hang it in a place favorable for the life of birds.

What material serves as the basis for a birdhouse?

Anyone can make a birdhouse if they have some carpentry skills. To assemble the structure you will need:

1. Wooden, dry boards, the width of which should be at least 20 cm and the height - approximately 50 cm. If the wood for the house is wet, the birdhouse will soon delaminate, which will lead to the formation of drafts.
2. Circle for cutting the tap hole. The diameter of the finished hole is 7 centimeters.
3. Special nails for fastening that do not have heads. Such fixation, used when assembling a bird house, will be safe; the birds will not be able to injure their bodies.
4. Material for assembling the roof structure. It’s a good idea to use boards as a material.

In addition, the lid can be made using a removable method by equipping special grooves or hooks.

How to hang a birdhouse correctly

It is important not only to assemble the birdhouse, but also to choose a good place to place it in the garden. To hang the structure correctly, you need to choose a tree that is tall enough, reaching four meters or more. Such a tree should grow in a less busy and trafficked area of ​​the garden so that the presence of people does not greatly disturb the birds. Before hanging a birdhouse, inspect the tree and take into account the following nuances:

• the entrance should be placed so that strong winds do not blow into the birdhouse. This means that it is best to turn the structure in a southeast direction. If you place the birdhouse with its entrance to the northwest, slanting rain will fall inside the structure;
• You need to hang the birdhouse on a tree that cannot be called spreading. If the branches are near the front of the structure, cats will be able to reach birds or small chicks;
• To hang a birdhouse, you do not need to use nails or other iron fasteners that are driven into the wood. To secure the structure to the tree, it is best to use a strong rope or metal wire. Before fixing the house, it is necessary to place strong wooden chips under the wire so that it cannot damage the bark and the entire plant as it grows.

You can hang the birdhouse on a hook that is pre-attached to the back wall of the structure. They make it from wire, then simply attach it to a branch that is close to the trunk. It is advisable to trim off excess branches, if any, so that cats cannot reach the structure.

Wherever the birdhouse is turned relative to the cardinal directions, first of all you need to ensure that gusts of strong winds do not penetrate inside, and that rainwater does not get in. For example, if the structure will be placed on private plots of the Moscow region, where north-western winds blow, the entrance should be turned to the east or south-east. And, of course, when choosing a place for a house, it is advisable to give preference to areas where the sun will not constantly shine, so that the birds do not suffer from the heat in their cozy birdhouse.

Birds in our gardens are welcome guests. Some settle on their own, like, for example, a couple of garden warblers in a gooseberry bush that has grown beyond all measure. But it’s especially nice when the herald of spring, a starling, breeds its offspring in the house you built, or when a redstart couple settles in. Even a simple sparrow that has taken a fancy to a man-made dwelling may well become a good talisman for your garden.

On a note

Realtor clients

We must remember that only so-called hollow-nesting birds can live in birdhouses, titmice and other structures called “bird houses”. No roll, no “view from the window” will lure into the best house either a nightingale nesting on the ground, or a finch building its miracle nest in the fork of a tree, or a swallow that makes its “clay hut” under the very roof of the house. But the pied flycatcher, the swift, three species of tits (great tit, puffy tit and blue tit), the already mentioned starling, both species of redstarts living with us (niglet and coot) will be very grateful to you for taking care of them.

Property in a new building

“Building standards” for bird “cottages” are by no means strict. It is best to make them from edged, unplaned inch boards. Try to keep gaps to a minimum. You can paint the house with any wood-protective impregnation in neutral shades (green, brown). Don't paint the inside: birds prefer light-colored interior walls and ceilings.

The birdhouse differs from other bird houses only in its size. The height of its walls should be 35 centimeters, the internal size of the bottom should be 15-17 cm. But the most important parameter is the size of the taphole, the hole that serves as the entrance door. For a starling, this hole should be at least 4.5 cm in diameter.

The entrance to bird houses does not have to be round, as indicated in many pictures and diagrams. If you don’t have the appropriate tool, no problem! Make the entrance square. The birds, believe me, don’t care at all.

Not only starlings, but also all other lovers of enclosed spaces can nest in such a house. For example, small owls: the little owl, the great owl, and a little south of the middle zone - the charming scops owl. And perhaps smaller hollow-nesting tenants - sparrows and tits - will also settle there.

Let's move on to the titmouse. The entrance in it should be only from 2.8 to 3.5 cm in diameter. The “little birds”, led by the pied flycatcher and tits, will like such a house: after all, neither an owl nor a squirrel will get into it. The walls of the titmice are about 25 cm high, the bottom is 12 cm in diameter.

The height of the houses is also not very important. Titmouse can be hung at a height of two to three meters from the ground. Birdhouses are a little higher. It doesn’t matter whether the entrance faces south or north: the main thing is that the entrance to the house faces an open space, and not towards a dense forest or a busy highway.

"Secondary housing"

Summer residents often neglect such an important task as cleaning old bird houses. They motivate their reluctance to climb a tree and free a birdhouse or titmouse from old nesting material with a convenient phrase - they say, the birds will figure it out themselves. Alas, they may not figure it out. The fact is that the nesting cycle of birds includes not only the very fact of laying eggs and feeding chicks, but also building a nest! If this element of nesting behavior is absent, then the entire cycle may crumble like a house of cards.

Little of! As you know, starlings lay eggs at the bottom of a hollow or birdhouse without any bedding. And therefore, if they find a pile of hay in the house (the result of sparrows being there) or a mixture of moss and wool (squirrels were in charge), such a dwelling will be rejected by the starlings. So you need to make it a rule every year to clean the bird houses of everything that has accumulated there over the past time.

We issue a warrant

Traditionally, birdhouses are usually hung on International Bird Day, namely April 1st. But from a bird's point of view, this is perhaps too late. After all, their family relationships are built like this: the male starling, the future head of the family, arrives ahead of time, two or three weeks before the female. He must find a nesting site with a free house. In central Russia this happens in early - mid-March, and in more northern regions in late March - early April. Having found a suitable home, he sings his mating song in the hope that his girlfriend, who arrives next, will appreciate his “master’s grip.” Therefore, it is better to hang the birdhouse early, ideally in the fall. And then the happy starling will celebrate the official Bird Day in his new home.

For other birds nesting in man-made houses, the scheme is the same. Only in time everything is shifted a little: tits are looking for a place for a nest from mid-April, pied flycatchers - from the end of April, gory-tails - in early May. The very last to arrive are the swifts. In St. Petersburg it is May 18-19, in Moscow - a little earlier.

This is interesting

Housewarming!

There are quite a lot of birds that have adapted to breed their offspring in tree hollows (and, accordingly, in bird houses). There are 4 species of ducks alone that have appreciated the beauty of nesting life in houses! But there are also jackdaws, medium-sized and even large owls... Even one of the small falcons, on occasion, can nest in a relatively spacious nest.

But the starling is still closer and more understandable to us than others. Very soon these speckled black birds will appear on the lawns of city parks and our gardens. And if you take care of offering “real estate” for your feathered friends, then life around you will become more eventful and interesting both now and in the future.