How to Hang Birdhouses

Tufted titmouse checking out one of my birdhouses february 2024. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

How to Hang Birdhouses

Sixty percent of bird species depend on bugs to feed their young, making birds an important element in gardens to balance the ecosystems. 

If you are just starting your living bird collection, take a walk around your garden and look for spots that offer protection from predators and prevailing winds, and access to food and water. I have bird baths around my property as well as small rainwater ponds to encourage birds to settle in.

If you're buying birdhouses, most come with directions on what birds may move in and where to best hang the birdhouses.

Here's a quick guide on where to place birdhouses for Eastern Bluebirds, Wrens, Titmice and Cardinals.

1. Eastern Bluebirds:

   • Preferred Entrance Hole Size: 1.5 inches

   • Habitat Preference: Open woodlands, orchards, fields, and along the edges of forests.

   • Nesting Box Placement: Mount bluebird houses on posts or poles about 4 to 6 feet above the ground, facing towards an open area. Bluebirds prefer a little bit of distance between their nesting spot and dense vegetation.

2. Wrens:

   • Preferred Entrance Hole Size: 1 inch

   • Habitat Preference: Woodlands, suburban areas, and gardens with dense shrubbery.

   • Nesting Box Placement: Hang wren houses in a sheltered area, such as under eaves or tree branches, about 6 to 10 feet above the ground. Wrens often prefer locations that offer some protection from the elements.

   • They are also known to build several nests they don't use. Observe your wren houses to determine which ones are actually occupied. These birds are fun to hear and watch.

3. Titmice:

   • Preferred Entrance Hole Size: 1.25 inches

   • Habitat Preference: Woodlands, forests, parks, and suburban areas with mature trees.

   • Nesting Box Placement: Mount titmouse houses on trees or posts about 6 to 15 feet above the ground. Place them in a somewhat secluded area with moderate vegetation cover.

4. Cardinals:

   • Habitat Preference: Brushy areas, woodlands, gardens, and suburban areas with thick shrubbery.

   • Nesting Box Placement: Cardinals prefer to build nests in protected shrubs. Every year I find nests in my old-fashioned lilac bushes. I entice them by providing sunflower seeds through early spring. 

One final note. I've had frogs in wren houses and bumblebees in bluebird houses so birdhouses can be homes to more than just birds.

For more gardening, beekeeping, cooking and easy home decor tips, subscribe to Garden Notes.

Charlotte

Feed Ground Birds Suet

These two Blue Jays found my serving of suet for ground feeding birds. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Feed Ground Birds Suet

A robin was flying into one of my suet holders on the side of a tree earlier this week. Temperatures were record low, barely above zero, and my heart went out to the bird. i’ve hand raised robins over the years and found them to be smart and engaging birds. i wasn’t sure why this one was in my garden by himself but he definitely was hungry.

Woodpeckers at the suet feeding stations tied to my oak trees. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Watching birds in my garden is one of my favorite pastimes. i maintain a bird feeding station outside my living room window with two large bird feeders, a couple of bird baths and several suet feeders. i keep them stocked more in winter than any other time of the year; winter is when the birds seem to need the help the most.

As i was watching the robin, a Bluebird joined him under where the woodpeckers were helping themselves to suet. They were waiting for suet leftovers to fall to the ground but I wasn’t seeing too many. That gave me an idea.

Kitchen grater makes quick work of cutitng up suet. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Using a kitchen grater, i turned a suet pack into smaller pieces so the ground nesting birds could get suet. Suet helps birds keep their metabolism up in cold weather.

Since we are in for record low temperatures over the next few days, I thought they would appreciate getting more ready access to suet pieces.

If you don’t have a grater, a kitchen knife will work just as well. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

if you don’t have a grater, a kitchen knife will work, too. just be careful as you shave off the suet pieces.

I tried putting a suet pack in the freezer for a few minutes; that helped make the suet shaving easier but it was harder to cut off the pieces. Now I keep the suet in the garage, which makes the suet packs hard enough to easily shave without worrying that I might lose a thumb.

Scattered suet and a little peanut butter for the ground feeding birds. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

To serve, i scattered the suet under the two suet holders tied to a tree where ground feeding birds would normally pick up on woodpecker leftovers.

It doesn’t take long for the word to get around that there are goodies on the ground.

The robin that inspired my feeding ground nesting birds now can get some. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Not only did I later see the robin getting a ground suet snack but an Eastern Bluebird pair were also helping themselves. Eastern Bluebirds start looking for nesting sites this time of year. Maybe the suet will encourage this new pair to settle somewhere in my garden.

Why birds? Birds collect caterpillars for baby bird food. By doing so, they help keep bug populations under control without my having to use chemicals.

Plus they are fun to watch!

Charlotte

Winter Watering Holes

My favorite winter watering hole for my birds, a tiny waterfall. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Winter Watering Holes

We think of garden visitors like butterflies and birds enjoying bird baths in the summer but they also need a good source of water in the winter when it’s not so easy. After several options, I finally found the easiest, and most reliable way to offer water to my birds and bees over winter: a small waterfall. The continuously moving water provides a constant water source when other options are either frozen or no longer available.

For many years, I would try pouring hot water into concrete bird baths to break up the ice. Depending on the outside temperatures, the water would just freeze.

One of the bird baths near a bird feeder covered in ice. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I do have a heated bird bath. The challenge with this option is having a deck or pole where it can be installed, as well as nearby electricity.

I had this plugged in and on my porch for several days. It needs to be daily checked and kept filled, not to mention finding a good way to mount it.

Heated birdbaths need a safe mounting pole and nearby electricity. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

When I found this portable water fall on sale, I was not thinking about this being a watering hole for birds and other creatures. I installed it next to my front porch and added local rocks to help it blend into the nearby limestone.

I was thinking this would attract frogs I could enjoy watching. Instead, birds, bees and butterflies have made this a favorite watering spot all year around.

This waterfall is an easy way to provide water in winter. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

What I like about a portable water fall for winter water is that the constant movement keeps the water from freezing. The water fall holds the water that gets circulated and is easily refilled periodically.

if you want to manage the water fall, you can place it on a timer so that it doesn’t run all of the time. Mine shuts off in the evening during summer and kicks back on early morning. During winter, I keep it running all night so that the water doesn’t freeze.

Bluebirds making a winter stop at my porch water fall for a drink. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

The morning I looked out my front door to see a whole flock of Eastern Bluebirds getting a drink out of the water fall I knew this was the solution for me. And my birds.
For the ease of providing water all year, this has turned out to be the best option.

You will find these portable water falls at big box home and garden centers usually spring through summer. I have seen them on sale in the fall, usually when inventory is down to only one or two units.

Charlotte

Dueling Woodpeckers

So cute, downy woodpeckers enjoying suet feeding stations right outside of my living room window.

The chair faces the garden so I can easily pop in for a few minutes and watch my feathered garden visitors.

In winter, many birds show up that I don't see in summer, not just because of leaves on trees but because this is not their summering spot.

During winter, one of the main visitors are woodpeckers, although they are in the garden all year around removing insects from tree barks.

Birds in a garden help to keep insect populations in check but not right now, everything is still quite frozen so suet is the next best thing.

Charlotte

Mystery Guest Solved

It's snowing February 16, 2015 in the Missouri Ozarks, a wonderful day to be tucked in at home with a pot of homemade soup on the stove and a pile of favorite bird books nearby.

It's also one of my favorite times to watch my garden and see what visitors come in and fly by.

One of the mysteries I wanted to solve was what birds have been using my tiny ront porch outside my front door. Over summer, I found shelled sunflower seeds scattered under my swing. Then earlier today, I saw several birds flying off before I could reach a window.

After tucking a camera in my pocket and waiting for calm to resume, I caught this bird comfortably settled on my porch swing.

Do you recognize it?

It's a mourning dove, with the most beautiful feathers when it settles in the sun. There is a bevy of them usually in my garden, sometimes just roosting on a tree limb outside my living room window.

Of course, as my brother David would suggest, but then again, maybe this bird isn't the one that has been on my deck...

Charlotte

Christmas Memories

"Like snowflakes, my Christmas memories gather and dance - each beautiful, unique and too soon gone."  ~Deborah Whipp

What are your favorite memories of this holiday season?

Charlotte