Build a birdhouse with your family this spring

Welcome the return of spring with easy-to-make birdhouses from Woodcraft.

What’s the best thing about springtime? After months of hearing only harsh winds and crunching snow, many would argue that it is the return of wildlife, especially birds. However, many others would argue more for the longer, warmer days of the season, not to mention the renewed opportunity to enjoy the outdoors.

Mixed in with the long list of necessary home improvement activities, many people also include woodworking projects on their "must-do" list of activities this season. An increasingly popular project that captures the spirit of the season for the whole family is building birdhouses or feeders for the backyard.

"Sales of family craft kits — like bird- houses and feeders — soar during the spring months at our retail locations, through our catalogs and at our on-line store," says Shawn Draper of Woodcraft Supply Corp. "These are appealing projects because beginning woodworkers can tackle smaller birdhouses while more experienced woodworkers undertake complex, multi-level customized birdhouses."

Bird lovers can start out by educating themselves on birdhouse projects with books such as Making Backyard Birdhouses (Sterling), by Sandy Cortright and Will Pokriots or Birdhouses, Feeders You Can Make (Goodheart-Willcox Co.) by Hi Sibley. Complete birdhouse kits are available from Woodcraft that contain everything a family needs to create a Country Barn or Covered Bridge birdhouse in just a few hours.

Here are a few tips for anyone contemplating a birdhouse construction project this spring, courtesy of the experts at Woodcraft:

­ Determine the type of birds you’d like to attract to the house and then find a plan that attracts those specific birds. Decide how many bird families you want to house — plans exist for simple one-family birdhouses up to 58-family "hotels" for birds.

­ If you’re not working from a kit, select the wood species you’d like to use. Cypress, pine, fir, redwood and white cedar are all popular with birds of varying species. Cypress and redwood birdhouses last the longest.

­ Use water-resistant glues and rust-resistant round or oval head wood screws during construction to help your birdhouse last.

­ It’s sometimes best to not finish the wood of the birdhouse. Many birds prefer homes that appear a bit weathered because they more closely resemble natural surroundings.

­ Be sure that some part of the birdhouse (either the roof or the floor) is removable so that you can clean it each year.

­ Ventilation is important, so be sure to drill 3/8-inch holes along the back, under the eaves of the roof or in another convenient spot.

Woodcraft offers more birdhouse construction tips, along with kits and products on their Web site at www.woodcraft.com. Or call (800) 535- 4482 to find a Woodcraft retail location near you.