A Real Birdhouse

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

8" diameter, stave constructed body, three compound-mitered stave constructed roof rings, no finish, cedar (fence board) and a little redwood, burned and wire brushed. The floor is a loose disc which can be flipped for cleaning. Perhaps it will get occupied in the spring. :):)

[Steve Schlumpf]

Really cool looking birdhouse Malcolm! Really like the hut style roof! Birds in your area really get to live in style! Thanks for sharing!

[Allen Neighbors]

Well done, Malcolm!! Little snow on the roof?
Nice style!!

[Tony De Masi]

Very cool Malcomb.

Tony

[David E Keller]

Thats cool. Let us know if the birds use it... My mom is in to birdhouses and this would be a good project for me.

[Bill Bulloch]

I am glad you told us that the body is stave constructed, because I can not tell it from the picture. I have turned some big ones out of solid blank: never thought of staves. Very nice.

[Paul Douglass]

That has to be condo of the year. I'd certainly live in it if I twer a bird. Nice job.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice birdhouse Malcolm. I couldn't tell it was staved either.

[Richard Madison]

Cool house MT. Which glue did you use? Really like the burned and wire brushed effect.

[Cody Colston]

That's a great little bird house, Malcolm. The burning and brushing along with the grain on the roof makes it almost look thatched...I guess that was the intention, huh?

The only thing I see wrong from a nesting point of view is the twig perch and the entry hole very close to the bottom. That's an open invitation for European Sparrows to take up residence there.

Our winters are pretty mild down here and I've already seen my local Bluebird couple checking out all the houses I have up around the property. They don't always select the same one every year.

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Cody, we don't have any European sparrows (that I know of) here in the high Sierra, but we do have large blue jays that nest every year right near our front door - hence the large opening.

Richard, I used Titebond III which they claim to be waterproof.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Blue jays here and in my native Holland nest in tree tops, usually evergreens.
As for the birdhouse, looks nice, but can the bird still get in the door with a nest in it ??
I've made and have quite a few birdhouses that are occupied every year, just the square from board made ones, but the size of the opening and placement are quite important if you want bird to come and live in the birdhouse, hight of placement is also somewhat deciding in which birds will like to live in it, there's info on it if you are interested in it.
Oh did I say, Very good looking birdhouse :-))

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Leo, to be very honest about this, it was made mostly as a decoration. I never researched birdhouse specs. Will it ever be occupied? Who knows. We have a blue jay nest in a lilac bush five feet from our front door. Every year, blue jays rebuild the nest and sit on eggs. We've seen several pairs of off-spring fly from the nest.

[Nick Hoffman]

I have been told in the past that the stick in front of the entrance is not need and can actually put the bird at risk from predators, by giving them a perch to access from.

Cute little house.

[Jeff Nicol]

Malcom, I like the house and the style is cool, reminds me of the old round barns of yesteryear! Like you said it is for decoration and who knows what will move into it. Critters are critters and the fact is they all have some place in our world, it does not matter if it is a sparrow or a bat or a nest of hornets, the fact is you made it and it is a great project! I am not sure I like some of the negativity we sometimes get, when it truly does not matter if it is designed, tested and proved to be the best birdhouse in the world. Perfection is not attainable by anyone, but happiness and pride is!! You did a great job as always, your skills speak for themselves.

I have had many people ask me to make big birdhouses for outside and I think I will base mine on yours and go from there.

Thanks for sharing!

Jeff

[Gerold Griffin]

Great job Malcolm!! At first I thought you tuned the living quarters from a solid piece. The grain gave away the roof. Another great job. When time pemits I may have to try this. Thanks for posting.

[Greg Just]

Malcom:

What a beautiful bird house. My wife has a collection above the kitchen cabinets and this would be a great addition. Others have mentioned hole sizes and perch/no perch. I have made many bird houses over the years and followed the recommendations of the "experts". Half the time no one ever occupies the house. I think a lot has to do with location, location, location! Whether anyone moves in isn't that important, it's the fun we have in making them.

Happy New Year!

[Curt Fuller]

I love the birdhouse! It seems to be a departure from your usual elaborately designed and executed work. Maybe even something I could figure out. As for the birds wanting to live in it, well if I spent several hours building something that nice, I'd just as soon the birds left it alone. I'll nail a couple pieces of plywood together if I want to attract squatters.;)

[Allen Neighbors]

I got quite a bit of negativity when I posted a turned birdhouse one time on another forum. I took all of it as constructive criticism, and did a little reading. Since then, however, I have made over 20 of these that I turned from solid logs. I placed a 1 1/4" hole about 3" above the inside floor, and cover the outside with 3 coats of Varathane Polyurethane. I place a short peg about 1/2" below the entry hole. The ones that I kept, get a family of wrens every spring.
An inch-and-a-half hole 4" above the floor will get other birds, such as starlings and sparrows.
It's still a nice birdhouse, Malcolm. Make some more. They'll sell well, whether utilitarian or dust collectors. :D

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Thanks to everyone who chimed in on this relatively simple project. At the risk of "tooting my own horn", this birdhouse is one of about 20 "functional" segmented projects that I've been working on for a couple of "project" DVDs. All the projects will be functional/utilitarian as opposed to the artsy style that I usually do. I’m probably still a couple of months from finishing the DVDs.

[Tom Giacomo]

Very nice bird house, the roof is unique, and don't pay no attention to that "little snow on the roof" crack.