In an effort to increase our resident bird population my gourds are being called into action as feeders and now houses. Here's a little step by step of how I make my birdhouses.

How well would one of those gourd birdhouses hold up through the winter? Would it have to be taken inside or could it be left out for birds to take shelter in during the winter.

I find finches and wrens using the rafters under the roof of my porch in the winter to get out of the wind and snow. I love having them there but they fly away when I have to put our dogs out to go potty. If I could keep something like that out there in the trees for the little birds to use as a shelter in the winter that would be great.


PS: I just love the things you do with gourds. You have such wonderful talent.

I have some gourds that have been outside for a few years and other than looking more weathered they're holding up really well.

There is actually a thing called a roosting box for what you want (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/attracting/other_attract/roost_boxes/document_view), but I see birds using my nest gourds from last year for the same purpose. The gourds have nest sticks in them so there's something in there for them to sit on. Gourds are actually the perfect thing for winter boxes because the softer interior acts as insulation.

You should put in some gourd plants next summer to play around with. They make great feeders too.

Thanks for lookin.

what kind of bird is coming out in the last picture. Is that a wren?

I love your stuff pogo!

This is great! I hope I have better luck this year with the squash plants in general -- maybe some bottle gourds will actually mature, too so I can try this. Brilliant, what you've done with the peanut butter jar. I would never have thought to do that. Do you "soften" the edges of the cut jar inside the gourd as well, or do you let the birds take care of that with nesting material?

Yep alaskan, it's a house wren.

Elfie, there isn't much of the jar inside the gourd. I cut the jar just where it starts to widen under the lid, so it's a little wider inside the gourd. I put some little starter sticks in to cover the drainage holes and some of the plastic.

That's a beautiful gourd birdhouse. The pics make it really easy to follow instructions, even for me... I was also wondering how long they last, but answered in above post. I especially like your idea of the clean-out trap using the peanut butter jar.

That's a great birdhouse!!

How do you clean out the gourd? What type of gourd is it? The large opening is for cleaning out? Is that like a plastic opening, like from an old plastic jar? Did you treat it with anything?

I am not very creative but usually can follow directions well

Hey pea... I cleaned this gourd by soaking it in soapy water with a little bleach, then just removed the pulp and seeds out of the big hole in the back. I'm not sure what kind of gourd it is other than hardshell, it's pretty big so maybe some sort of kettle gourd. Yep the bigger opening is so I can clean it our after the birds nest in it and use it again the next year. The jar is the bigger size peanut butter jar, just the top of the jar cut off maybe 1/2 inch below the threads. I don't treat the gourd with anything or put any sealer on because the birds will sometimes fuss and pick at the house trying to make their home just right.

What's the type of gliue? Elmers?

The white stuff around the jar isn't glue, it's tub and tile caulk. I squirt it in the space between the jar and gourd, then smooth it out with my fingers dipped in soapy water. There's also an adhesive caulk that would work well to set everything in place.

There's a little blurb above each picture that says a little about that step. They're easy to not notice when the pictures flip through.

Pogo,

Hi, these bird houses are great! I wanted to ask you a few questions about how you made them and the video... could you email me at bethhuxta@gmail.com?

Thanks!
Beth

OG Contributing Editor