BirdNote? The Perfect Nest box

CURWOOD: If you want to see birds in your yard – there's no better way than to feed them – and encourage them to hang around by giving them somewhere appealing to live. Sometimes, though, all one seems to attract are the ubiquitous starlings and sparrows. So in today's BirdNote, Michael Stein has some words of advice. BirdNote The Perfect Nestbox [SONGS OF HOUSE WREN, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, AND RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH] STEIN: Were hearing a House Wren [HOUSE WREN SONG] Sloped roof protects from weather and predators (photo: Ladyheart) A Black-capped Chickadee [BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE SONG] And Red-breasted Nuthatch [RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH CALL] Female bluebird at home in a rustic nest box (photo: NDPetitt) One of these birds might make its home in your yard, if you put up the right kind of birdhouse. Theyre all cavity-nesters, birds that need a cavity in a treeor a birdhouse that serves the same purposefor nesting. Perches invite non-native House Sparrows (photo: Steve BroGuggs) [MORE MEDLEY] Look for a nestbox thats plain wood, none of that fancy stuff. Birds prefer their nest sites to be inconspicuous. If the birdhouse comes with a cute little dowel perch, remove it. The nesting birds dont need the perch. And it just makes it easier for a predator bird to land and go after the eggs or young. Heres the important part: grab a ruler and measure the entrance hole. It should be 1-1/8 inches. No more, no less, exactly one and one-eighth inches. If the entrance hole is too big, use an adapter to reduce the size. That size will let native birds in, and keep non-natives out. Now hang the box where its out of reach of any predator. Im Michael Stein [MORE MEDLEY] [Written by Frances Wood Calls and songs of the birds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Black-capped Chickadee song, House Wren and Red-breasted Nuthatch call recorded by G.A. Keller. Producer: John Kessler Executive Producer: Chris Peterson 2014 Tune In to Nature.org May 2014 Narrator: Michael Stein http://birdnote.org/show/perfect-nestbox ] CURWOOD: Hop on over to our website, LOE.org for some cute pictures of these native birds.

CURWOOD: If you want to see birds in your yard – there's no better way than to feed them – and encourage them to hang around by giving them somewhere appealing to live. Sometimes, though, all one seems to attract are the ubiquitous starlings and sparrows. So in today's BirdNote, Michael Stein has some words of advice. BirdNote The Perfect Nestbox [SONGS OF HOUSE WREN, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, AND RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH] STEIN: Were hearing a House Wren [HOUSE WREN SONG] Sloped roof protects from weather and predators (photo: Ladyheart) A Black-capped Chickadee [BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE SONG] And Red-breasted Nuthatch [RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH CALL] Female bluebird at home in a rustic nest box (photo: NDPetitt) One of these birds might make its home in your yard, if you put up the right kind of birdhouse. Theyre all cavity-nesters, birds that need a cavity in a treeor a birdhouse that serves the same purposefor nesting. Perches invite non-native House Sparrows (photo: Steve BroGuggs) [MORE MEDLEY] Look for a nestbox thats plain wood, none of that fancy stuff. Birds prefer their nest sites to be inconspicuous. If the birdhouse comes with a cute little dowel perch, remove it. The nesting birds dont need the perch. And it just makes it easier for a predator bird to land and go after the eggs or young. Heres the important part: grab a ruler and measure the entrance hole. It should be 1-1/8 inches. No more, no less, exactly one and one-eighth inches. If the entrance hole is too big, use an adapter to reduce the size. That size will let native birds in, and keep non-natives out. Now hang the box where its out of reach of any predator. Im Michael Stein [MORE MEDLEY] [Written by Frances Wood Calls and songs of the birds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Black-capped Chickadee song, House Wren and Red-breasted Nuthatch call recorded by G.A. Keller. Producer: John Kessler Executive Producer: Chris Peterson 2014 Tune In to Nature.org May 2014 Narrator: Michael Stein http://birdnote.org/show/perfect-nestbox ] CURWOOD: Hop on over to our website, LOE.org for some cute pictures of these native birds.