How to Make Bird Houses

Bird houses give our fun, feathered friends safe places to live and survive. Despite the fact that many migrating songbirds are protected by federal law, birds are still in danger from destruction of habitat, pollution, and even your neighborhood cats.

You and your kids can help the birds by learning how to make bird houses. It's a fun family activity that you can all work on together. And before you know it, birds will be flocking to your backyard. Kids will love to see who flies by for a visit!

See the following pages to find family bird house activities that will turn your backyard into a wildlife sanctuary:

Bird-Mart

Construct a bird house superstore with a cardboard box and leftover items from around the house.

Guest in the Nest

Teach kids how birds construct their homes and help your backyard birds feather their nests.

Simple Bird Houses

Decorate gourds or flower pots to create simple abodes for your backyard birdies.

On the next page you'll learn how your kids can build a Bird-Mart, a virtual "home supply store" for birds.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

Bird-Mart

This bird house activity is essentially a "home supply" shop for busy birds. When nesting time arrives, transform your yard into bird central with this cardboard bird-nest superstore!

What You'll Need:

Large cardboard box
Safe scissors
String
Yarn
Dryer lint
Hair from combs and brushes

How to Make a Bird-Mart:

Step 1: Cut holes and notches in a large, sturdy cardboard box.

Step 2: Feed bits of string, yarn, dryer lint, and hair into those holes and notches.

Step 3: Place the box on a high table or on top of a flat roof, then wait and watch. Before you know it, dozens of backyard birds will land on your cardboard shop just to find special things for the nests they're building.

The next bird house activity will teach your kids how birds make their nests in springtime. Learn how to treat birds to a comfortable stay in the next section.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

Guest in the Nest

If spring has sprung in your hometown, it's probably time for your local birds to start laying a few eggs. But even birdie babies require a nursery. This season, your kids can help indigenous birds feather their nests with this cool bird house activity.

What You'll Need:

Hair from a hairbrush
Cotton balls
Dryer lint
Bits of yarn

How to Make a Guest in the Nest:

Step 1: The next time your hairbrush gets crammed full of tangled tendrils, don't just pull the hair out and throw it away. Weave it into the branches of a tree that's a known hangout for birds.

Step 2: Have a few dusty cotton balls that are headed for the trash? Pull them apart and hook them onto the branches as well.

Step 3: Do the same with dryer lint and bits of yarn left over from a knitting spree.

Before you know it, those bits and pieces will mysteriously vanish from the trees. They will reappear, mixed with mud and branches, as the birds' nests take shape.

The next bird activity will have you and your kids making bird houses out of gourds and flower pots. Learn how to make simple bird houses in the next section.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

Simple Bird Houses

Put some of these simple bird houses out in the spring. Little ones will love to see what kinds of birds will set up housekeeping!

Since these houses can't be opened and cleaned easily, they are both one-season houses. You'll need to help your kids make these bird houses.

The easiest bird house to make is a gourd house. Buy or grow gourds that are at least four inches across, with a long neck.

What You'll Need:

Gourd
Carving knife
String
Drill
1/4-inch dowel (optional)
Craft glue (optional)

How to Make a Simple Gourd Bird House:Step 1: Dry out the gourd, cut a one-inch hole in the round part, and hang it up by the neck. Step 2: You can also add a perch. Drill a 1/4-inch hole under the larger hole. Then cut a two-inch length of dowel and insert it in the small hole. Glue in place.

What You'll Need:

Plastic flower pot
Flower pot base
Decorations (optional)
Craft glue (optional)

How to Make a Simple Flower Pot Bird House:Step 1: Run some string through the holes on the bottom of the pot. Cut a one-inch hole in the side. Step 2: Turn the pot over; glue it to a flower pot base that is larger than the mouth of the flower pot. Hang it up by the string. You and your kids can also use craft glue to decorate the bird house with dried flowers, popsicle sticks, or pine cones.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

ABOUT THE CRAFT DESIGNERS:

Bird-Mart by contributing writers Maria Birmingham, Karen E. Bledsoe, and Kelly Milner Halls

Guest in the Nest by contributing writers Maria Birmingham, Karen E. Bledsoe, and Kelly Milner Halls