Build a Birdhouse

Building birdhouses can be an involved activity that includes many steps of the engineering process, such as designing a prototype, and deciding what materials and tools to use. While learning these steps, students become familiar with ways that engineering expertise and approaches can be applied to natural systems.

After this activity, students should be able to:

• Describe properties of materials used and why they are good for building a house.
• Understand the use of materials, wood and nails or glue, and a tool, the hammer.
• Explain the relationship between materials and tools.
• Understand birds need shelter for protection from weather and predators, and to safely hatch eggs.
• Learn that different birds require different sized houses.

Figure 2. Robins live in nests in trees.

When most people think of bird's nests, they imagine bundles of sticks nestled between tree branches, and held together with mud – a nest such as that made by robins (see Figure 2).

Some birds however, such as the blue bird or chickadee, nest in tree cavities (holes in decayed tree trucks). As forests are cleared for human developments, habitats such as mature forests with decayed trees are destroyed, reducing essential habitat for cavity-nesting birds.

Figure 3. A human-made nesting box for birds.CopyrightCopyright The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds 2005

To help preserve or improve bird populations, people have been building and putting up nest boxes (see Figures 1 and 3). Nest box programs have been successful in increasing populations of many cavity-nesting birds such as bluebirds.

Today, you will be designing and building your own birdhouse using limited materials and time. 

Preparation:

For the birdhouse option:

A birdhouse built to the following proportions is intended to attract chickadees. Dimensions will vary a bit, depending on wood thickness and bird type (see References). You may want to investigate specifications that would benefit the wildlife in your region.

(optional idea) It works well to arrange a group effort with another teacher's grade 9-12 woodshop students. The older students can measure and cut the wood (in advance ) and partner with the younger students to watch over them nailing the birdhouses together. If that is not possible, obtain appropriately sized wood and glue. Hardware and lumber retailers often donate wood scraps to schools.

Cut the following wood pieces (refer to the attached Nest Box Diagram):

• Front: 6 x 4 x 1 in (15.3 x 10 x 2.5 cm) with hole 1.25 in (3.2 cm) in diameter centered 3 in (7.6 cm) above bottom
• Back: 6 x 4 x 1 in (15.3 x 10 x 2.5 cm)
• Top and Bottom: 4 x 4 x 1 in (10 x 10 x 2.5 cm)
• Side: 6 x 6 x 1 in (15.3 x 15.3 x 2.5 cm)

For the nest option:

As homework or during recess, have students collect natural materials from an area in their neighborhoods where birds are found. In rural areas this might be their backyards; in more urban areas this may be a park, or along the street. Tell students that collecting small pieces of trash is appropriate to the mix; birds use what is available.

With the Students:

Teach students about bird habitats and shelters.

Introduce students to tools and materials (wood, hammer, nails, screws, screwdriver, tape measure), and discuss the difference between tools and materials. As necessary, review pertinent safety precautions and tool skills.

For the birdhouse:

1. Have the (woodshop) teacher give a demonstration of and instructions for the birdhouse construction.
2. Divide the class into groups of two to four students.
3. Hand out already-cut wood pieces to the teams.
4. With a woodshop student assisting each group, have the young students nail together their birdhouses.

For the nest:

1. Brainstorm and discuss what types of objects birds might use to build their nests.
2. Looking at the model and picture of actual nests, create your own birds nests using a paper plate as a base.

Birdhouse design:

After students have constructed the birdhouses and built their nests, have them research birds of interest and design shelters that meet a particular bird's needs.

Evaluation: Use the following guide to grade students, assuming they did all three items: nest, worksheet and birdhouse.

• 3 products completed, excellent effort = A
• 2 products completed, good effort = B
• 1 product completed, minimal effort = C
• 0 completed, no effort = F

Quiz: As an alternative post-activity assessment, ask students to write descriptions of which tools were used for which tasks in creating the nests and birdhouses.

Have students design their own birdhouses or come up with ideas to improve the current birdhouse designs.

Build an Oriole Nest. Journey North. The construction of an Oriole's nest from the bird's perspective. http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/oriole/BuildNest.html

Mayntz, Melissa. Before you Build a Birdhouse Birdhouses can be as easy or as difficult to build as you want, and there are birdhouse plans available for many different styles. How do you choose the best one for your backyard birds? About.com. http://birding.about.com/od/birdhouses/bb/beforebuild.htm

Collier, Julia. "A Builder, a Collector, a Scratcher, and a Thief." Spring/Summer 97 and Fall/Winter 97. DVRC Journals, Delaware Valley Raptor Center Nesting habits of birds of prey http://www.dvrconline.org/builder.html

Nest Watch. Nest box cams of several species. Cornell Lab of Ornithology Bird House Network Nest Box Cams http://www.birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse2/nestboxcam/