Hang in a partially or fully shaded area between six and 10 feet up. I have had good luck hanging them from the soffets on my single story house.
Clean the bird house out early spring. I suggest you just leave it up over the winter. Some suggest it gives shelter to birds that overwitner here.
The weather will wear on the bird house more but you will not forget in the spring.
I saw the first birds investigating my house in mid April this year, so I suggest
that you hang them late fall.
No one moved in my house this year (2010) untill mid May when a house wren moved in.
It has packed it full of twigs.
Normally I don't put a perch on my bird houses because the sparrows will sit
on the perch and peck around the hole to try and enlarge it. They end up pecking all
of the paint off. The house finch and chickadees can hang from the entrance hole. Last summer the house finches flew driectly into my commecial bird house with out touching the perch.
Several people have asked what kind of food should they put in it. None.
It is a bird house, not a feeder.
For my hole size and other dimensions I copied a commercial bird house that we had
hanging for over 10 years.
The one to 1 and 1/8 inch hole size works well for house wren and chickadees.
Some people have asked about squirrels. I don't know what to tell you.
They haven't messed with our bird houses. As far as I know, they are not interested
in birds.
Some folks have reported that their bird house fell down in strong winds, consider
pinching the hook a little bit smaller to prevent it next time.
It is not going to cause the birds to abandon the nest or babies if you touch it.
Construction Information
Some of my early bird houses were made with 1 x 4 inch pine, but most are now
made with 5mm thick plywood. I Dumpster dive for the wood, saving it from going into
a land fill.
The only hardware is the hook, I use glue instead of nails. I found that
the glue is much easier and stronger than using nails.
All of them have at least two coats of paint over a primer. Unless you damage the finish
and let the ply wood get wet, they should last many years. The ply wood is not exterior grade
wood to if it gets wet it will deteriorate in a few years. Hey what did you pay?
I buy the primer but most of the paint has been "donated". A friend is a professional painter
and he has supplied me with several cans of various colors. A very few of my early bird houses
were painted with "interior" grade paint, I gave all of them away long ago ( except for one hanging
at my house ). Since September of 2009 I have been using only water based exterior grade paint.
Check out "The Bird Watching Answer Book ( Storey, $14.95 ) by Laura Erickson
tips
leave out short lengths of twine or cotton batting no longer than 4 inches.
Beige and khaki bues are best to not attract predators.
If you have a perch consider cutting it off. it is an invitation for sparrows. I have made some
very decorative bird houses with very short perches. Hopefully too short for the sparrows.
"Woodworking for wildlife: Homes for birds and animals" (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources)
Don't use dryer lint if you have used dryer sheets.
A little bit of sway is good, keeps preditors away.
There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to which direction to point the hole.
I haven't tried this, consider packing the house with untreated cedar shavings and chickadees
will burrow in.
