Bird houses provide several benefits in our yards. While most of the benefits are for the birds that use them by providing a safe nesting area to lay eggs and rear young birds in, there are other benefits of bird houses that might not be so obvious.
Bird houses keep birds protected from all types of weather and most predators; they create a small ecosystem in your yard and in turn the birds eat weed seeds and insects and pollinate some plants. Birdhouses make great projects for families to do together and add beauty to backyards.
Some birds prefer to build their own nests on tree branches, out in the open and even under the eaves of our homes. There are many nest builders, such as American robins, swallows, orioles, great horned owls, hawks and eagles. On the other hand, there are birds that may need a birdhouse.
Birdhouses are great for birds that build nests out of twigs, feathers, weeds, grasses and other materials the birds find outside, and they are great shelters for those types of birds who are not nest-builders. These types of birds search out holes or cavities to burrow into. these cavity nesters use abandon holes in trees, hillside cliffs and birdhouses. Some cavity nesters include woodpeckers, chickadees, eastern bluebirds, nuthatches, wrens and some owls like barred and screech owls.
