Garden

[depglass]

We had a friend give us several bird houses he had made.  They had tiny holes that no birds seemed to like, so we gave up on them.  Then we bought a cottage and that property had bird houses on poles with those same tiny holes.  Not occupied in the past three years.  Birds around here seem to like the eaves of houses much more. 

[Kachina624]

Invite the Avian Welcome Wagon to come and call?

[Bird mama]

@depglass   I'm no expert but when it comes to birds it's not really different than people - location, location, location.  If the entrance to the birdhouse is too small for a bird, it won't bother.  If the entrance to a birdhouse is too large you risk predatory birds snatching the babies of the birdhouse occupant.

When you say tiny... how tiny?

I've had this birdhouse hanging off the soffit of my attached garage (over the patio) for a couple of years.  I removed the decorative flower box and installed a perch in it's place.

Sparrows live in it.

[gardenman]

As a rule Sparrows and Starlings will nest in anything they can fit in. Keeping them out is a far bigger problem. Something you should be aware of is that some birdhouses have pieces of black painted wood blocking the entry to keep birds out. Those birdhouses are built to be purely decorative. To a casual observer they appear to have a real hole, but the black piece of wood glued inside blocks access. If your birdhouses have real, open holes, and you're not picky on what kind of birds you get, enlarging the holes will have them filled quickly.

[Bird mama]

@depglass   Here's a good article about the size of an entrance for specific types of birds.

https://www.hunker.com/13425487/what-size-hole-should-be-in-a-birdhouse

[chrystaltree]

800 TC sheets and a fully stocked mini bar.

[ValuSkr]

Only certain types of birds - e.g. wrens - are receptive to birdhouses.  After that, it depends on the size of the hole (big enough to let them in and small enough to keep out visitors) and the location.  If there's a certain kind of bird you want to attract, I suggest googling.

[Trix]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

800 TC sheets and a fully stocked mini bar.

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 @chrystaltree  Thanks for the laugh.  It's been a tough morning and I needed that.  

  As for the birds, it's been my experience that a lot of the very decorative birdhouses don't attract as many birds as a tall and densely leafed tree, and as others have said the eaves of your house.  I have a friend who is very into birds and she gave up on houses for anything other than decor and feeding.  The birds in her community seemed to like the fine dining she offered in her birdhouses, but they wouldn't move in for nesting. 

[Kachina624]

Wrens don't seem to be very picky about housing.  I've had them build nests in the wreath on my front door, which is opened and closed frequently.

Every year I've lived in this house, twenty years this fall, I've had swallows nest in the arch over my entranceway.  They would generally raise two families every summer.   I'd just leave their mud nest so all they had to do was make minor repairs.  They didnt show up this year.  Alas, I'd love to know what happened to them but guess I never will.  Kind of sad but I don't miss the mess.

[fthunt]

I've never heard many success stories about birds living in a house.  The house on a tall pole with tiny holes maybe a Martin House.  Only the bird - Martins - can and will live in those......and it's a rather large bird house resembling a people house.  Martins like a lot of free space around that house so they can circle and circle.......and I've been told.....they allow sparrows to live there too cuz sparrows will clean it 'out' for the Martins & babies.  (a yuck job)  I saw one in action on the shore of Skaneateles Lake - in the Finger Lake region - and it was impressive.

Bluebirds like to nest in a box of specific size - location - but not just any house. 

Robins - no...Hummingbirds build little tiny baskets - shore birds nest in tall grass - etc.  Houses and birds don't really work the way WE think they should.