Your garden lays at rest covered in a blanket of fresh snow but as most gardeners know, winter is the perfect time to plan for spring. Just as gardeners are scouring through seed catalogs, now is also the time to plan what kind of birds you want to attract this year to your yard and where you will place your birdhouse(s). Installing a birdhouse in your yard or garden can provide hours of enjoyment, which is reason enough to invite birds into your garden. However, birds are also a gardeners helping partner. Most birds, such as wrens and bluebirds love snacking on insects making them a great natural pest control.
Prairie Home Cypress Bird House
MasterGardening.com has a great new line of decorative and highly functional birdhouses to grace your yard or garden. Birdhouses can be decorative, adding style to your backyard or garden, but function should always be first in your mind when buying a birdhouse.
Different bird species have different requirements when it comes to nesting. Our Vintage Wren House is specially designed for wrens, place this house near brushes or thickets to give them an ideal nesting spot. All birdhouses should also be structurally sound with drainage and ventilation holes/slats, these holes prevent the baby birds from overheating or drowning. Our Prairie Home Bird House is made of solid cypress wood, the most popular choice for bird houses because of it’s durability and resistance to rot.
The entrance hole, platform size, and mounting height are all things to consider when purchasing a birdhouse. In addition, when placing your birdhouse(s) in your yard or garden, mount it in a place that will protect the birds from preditors such as cats. We have included a helpful table below to assist you in matching the bird species you wish to attact to the perfect birdhouse and environment.
Check out our complete new line of birdhouses, including some great ladybug and butterfly houses at MasterGardening.com
| BIRD SPECIES | Diameter of Hole (inches) | Height Above Ground (feet) | Helpful hints for attracting |
| Bluebird – Eastern | 1 1/2″ | 4-10′ | Loves mealworms, bird grubs and insects |
| Bluebird – Mountain | 1 1/2″ | 4-10′ | Loves mealworms, bird grubs and insects |
| Bluebird – Western | 1 1/2″ | 4-10′ | Loves mealworms, bird grubs and insects |
| Brown Creeper/ American Tree Creeper | 1 3/8″ | 4-10′ | Attracted to rough-barked trees |
| Chickadee – Black-capped | 1 1/8″ | 6-15′ | Plant bayberry, elderberry, hemlock and pine, aspen or elm trees |
| Chickadee – Chestnut-backed | 1 1/8″ | 6-15′ | Plant bayberry, elderberry, hemlock and pine, aspen or elm trees |
| Chickadee – Mountain | 1 1/8″ | 6-15′ | Plant bayberry, elderberry, hemlock and pine, aspen or elm trees |
| Chickadee – Siberian | 1 1/8″ | 6-15′ | Plant bayberry, elderberry, hemlock and pine, aspen or elm trees |
| Duck – Barrow’s Goldeneye | 3″ | 10-30′ | Place house near water in sheltered area, tree lines |
| Duck – Bufflehead | 4″ | 10-20′ | Place house near water in sheltered area, tree lines |
| Duck – Wood | 4″ | 10-20′ | Place house near water in sheltered area, tree lines |
| Falcon – American Kestrel | 3″ | 8-30′ | Like organic gardens, wire fences and dead trees for good hunting |
| Finch – House | 2″ | 8-12″ | Like suet, nectar feeders, black oil sunflower seeds, and bird baths |
| Flycatcher – Ash-Throated | 1 1/2″ | 5-15′ | Trees and shrubs for pearching with nearby open areas |
| Flycatcher – Great Crested | 1 3/4″ | 5-15′ | Heavy tree cover and organic gardens |
| Hawk – Red-Tailed | Platform | 14′- up | Forest edge or tree line near open farm land |
| Nuthatch – Brown-headed | 1- 1/4″ | 5-15′ | Coniferous woods, oak, and maple trees |
| Nuthatch – Pygmy | 1- 1/4″ | 5-15′ | Coniferous woods, oak, and maple trees |
| Nuthatch – Red-Breasted | 1- 1/4″ | 5-15′ | Coniferous woods, oak, and maple trees |
| Nuthatch – White-Breasted | 1 3/8″ | 5-15′ | Coniferous woods, oak, and maple trees |
| Osprey | Platform | 15′ – up | Place platform over Water |
| Owl – Barn | 6″ | 12-18′ | Large grassland area |
| Owl – Great Horned | Platform | 15′- up | Open branches, away from power lines |
| Owl – Pygmy | 2 1/2″ | 10′- up | Coniferous woods/forests |
| Owl – Saw-whet | 2 1/2″ | 12′- up | Dense coniferous woodlands |
| Owl – Screech | 3″ | 8-30′ | Old orchards, woods, and bird baths |
| Robin – American | Nest Shelf | 6-15′ | Suburban and urban landscapes, berry bushes, fruit and shade trees |
| Snow Bunting | 1 3/4″ | 6-15′ | Heavy shrubbery |
| Sparrow – House | 1 1/8″- 2″ | 10-20′ | House should face east |
| Swallow – Barn | Nest Shelf | 8-12′ | Wide open spaces and bird bath or pond |
| Swallow – Purple Martin | 2 1/4″ | 6-20′ | Prefer a crescent shaped opening. Nest in groups, need a least 4 rooms |
| Swallow – Tree | 1 1/2″ | 5-15′ | Large trees near wide open spaces and pond or lake |
| Swallow – Violet-Green | 1 1/2″ | 5-15′ | Large trees near wide open spaces and pond or lake |
| Titmice | 1 1/8″ | 5-15′ | Evergreens, beechnut, and oak trees, elderberry and bayberry bushes |
| Titmouse | 1 1/4″ | 6-15′ | Evergreens, beechnut, and oak trees, elderberry and bayberry bushes |
| Warbler – Prothonotary | 1 1/8″ | 4-8′ | Place house adjacent to or over water |
| Woodpecker – Downy | 1 1/4″ | 6-20′ | Open woods, orchards, dead and large mature trees |
| Woodpecker – Flicker | 2 1/2″ | 6-20′ | Dead wood, large mature trees oaks and conifers |
| Woodpecker – Hairy | 1 1/2″ | 8-20′ | Open woods, orchards, large mature trees |
| Woodpecker – Lewis | 2 1/2″ | 12-20′ | Oak and conifer trees, fruit and nut bearing trees |
| Woodpecker – Pileated | 3-4″ | 15-25′ | Large mature trees, conifers |
| Woodpecker – Red-Bellied | 2 1/2″ | 10-20′ | Open woods, orchards, large mature trees |
| Woodpecker – Red-Headed | 2″ | 12-20′ | Open woods, orchards, large mature trees |
| Woodpecker – Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | 1 1/2″ | 10-20′ | Young forests of birch and aspen, near fresh water source |
| Wren – Bewick’s | 1 1/8″ | 5-10′ | Areas with brush, thickes and scrub near open land |
| Wren – Carolina | 1 1/4″ | 5-10′ | Wooded area with heavy undergrowth |
| Wren – House | 1 1/8″ | 5-10′ | Suburban and rural landscapes, shrubs and berry bushes |
| Wren – Winter | 1 1/4″ | 5-10′ | Prefers domed structures. Open woods and tree lines, conifers |
