It's been quiet bird wise in Southern New England, but as we come up on Christmas, I thought I'd share some of my favorite outdoor catalogs.
They have lots of bird related items as well as other cool outdoor stuff.

Gardener's Supply Company

Improvements

 
 

I spent quite a bit of time this afternoon looking for books of birdhouse plans. Just because I bought one doesn't mean I've given up on the idea of  making some. I just find the free plans online not clear enough for an rank amateur like myself. Then there are the ones that are like the extreme birdhouse plans I talked about yesterday...way too ornate and well, ugly.

So I've been looking for books of good, easy to follow birdhouse plans. I think I may have found a few.  Check these out:

The Complete Book of Birdhouse Construction for Woodworkers
This one looks good...simple and good for a beginner and the customer reviews were mostly 5's.

Easy-to-Build Birdhouses: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-212
"Storey's Bulletins provide a foundation of earth-friendly information for the way you want to live today." This book does seem to be exactly what I'm looking for.

 
 

Placing birdhouses strategically throughout your garden adds a really nice touch don't you think?

This article is mostly about garden planning, but birdhouses were part of the plan.

Jaeger garden an oasis on a busy street

 
 

Here's some more great information on building  birdhouses.

The Bird House

 
 

This article doesn't provide specific birdhouse plans, but it is a great article on some of the ins and outs of building a birdhouse.

It provides a great chart on the dimension requirements for various birds...Bluebirds, Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers (aren't they beautiful), Flickers, House Wrens, Nuthatches, and Screech Owls.

Other tips include...slanted roofs, no perch, drainage holes, a removable side for cleaning, and adding grooves below the entrance for the babies to climb.

Check out:
Building Bird Houses: How to determine the right height and hole size to attract the birds you want!

 
Attracting Birds 08/28/2007
 

This is a great article on 9 ways to attract birds to your backyard.

Check out Attracting Birds To Your Backyard Is Easy

 
 

You've got to be kidding me, right? Check out these birdhouse plans for a good laugh.

These birdhouse plans are about as far from my simple wrens house as you can get. My personal taste runs to simple and cheap, but maybe you're thinking about something this elaborate. I don't see anything here about what these birdhouse plans do for the birds. Can't imagine most birds would be attracted to these, but I could be wrong.

He is, of course, selling the birdhouse plans for hundreds of dollars. Just in case you misunderstand me, I am not recommending you buy them.

2 Comments
 
 

In looking for birdhouse plans, I found this article. Apparently Habitat has been building birdhouses as a fundraiser. Pretty cool.

More on Habitat Birdhouses

 
 

Along with my brand new birdhouse, this sounds like a solution for the house wrens and the cat. Just need to keep the shepherds hook far enough away from the deck. I wonder, where does one buy a shepherds hook?

Pretty cool photo too.
The House Wren

 
 

A lot of these houses are downright pricey, and besides I like making things which is why I've been looking for birdhouse plans. That said I don't think I could make a wren house for this price so I'm sharing it as an option.

Amazon has this on sale for $9.26 (regularly $10.29). The shipping's a bit steep at $6.12 (within USA), but even so it brings the total cost to $15.38. Sure beats all the ones for $30 and up.

And if I took the birdhouse plan from earlier today and made it, I'd probably spend about the same unless I already had scrap wood lying around which I don't...lots of screws but no wood (remember I just moved in 2 years ago...give be some time).

So here's the deal:
Heath Wren House 
Bottom slides out for easy cleaning. Made of wood and comes with a hanging hook.