You can do something good for the native birds with bird feeders and nesting boxes. There they will find food and a quiet refuge. But you also benefit from hanging a birdhouse in your garden, because it’s really fun to watch the little birds up close.
Nest boxes and bird feeders come in a variety of designs. However, you can also become active yourself and get one to paint yourself. Then you can design it according to your own ideas. A beautiful birdhouse can really enhance your balcony or garden.
In this article, we give you tips on what to consider when creatively designing your bird feeder.
Buy the right bird feeder
Before you can get really creative, you first need a suitable bird house. Because not all are well suited to be painted.
For example, you can opt for a completely natural wooden bird house to paint. You would then have to paint this yourself so that it can withstand the different weather conditions.
The Belmique aviary is pre-painted with white paint. On the one hand, it is already weatherproof and, on the other hand, your colors come into their own well and unadulterated. So you can really paint the birdhouse according to your own ideas and don’t have to pay attention to anything else.
Use the right acrylic pens or acrylic paint
So that everything works and you can be really satisfied with your DIY project in the end, you should also pay attention to the right working materials and colors when painting.
Acrylic paints are particularly good for painting birdhouses. Above all, the acrylic pens from Belmique are very practical and quickly ready for use for this purpose. In addition, they do not contain any harmful ingredients and are waterproof. This way you offer the birds in your garden a completely safe haven. In addition, the acrylic markers are also very suitable for children.
A very bright coat of paint or many bright colors can act as a deterrent to birds. Red in particular is often seen as a warning color in nature and is avoided by some animals. For this reason, it is better to use pastel, muted or earthy colors when painting your birdhouse.
If you have decided on an unpainted bird feeder, you may want to weatherproof it after painting it by sealing the wood. Again, you should make sure that the seal does not contain any harmful substances. Linseed oil or wax would be good ideas here, for example.
Find great motifs for your birdhouse
When you finally have all the materials together, you can finally get started and get creative. With a natural wooden house, however, it is advisable to check the edges again for splintered areas before painting. If you find any, you can sand them down with sandpaper. Otherwise, the color may flake off again.
There are also real construction kits for birdhouses on the market, where you have to assemble the individual parts yourself. If you have one in front of you, you should paint the individual components before you start crafting. This makes the whole thing much easier and you can easily get to any point.
So now all the preparations have been made and you only need to paint the right motifs for the bird house . Ideas may just flow out of you and you can hardly wait. Then grab your colors and start right away.
But if you’re more of the type who needs a few inspirations first, that’s no problem either. There are numerous articles on the Internet from which you can get ideas. You’re sure to find what you’re looking for in social networks and on Pinterest.
Even if you’re not good at painting, you don’t have to put your DIY project on hold because of it. There are also numerous motifs on the web that you can simply print out as templates. You can then attach these to your birdhouse with scotch tape and simply trace them.
Please also remember that the inside of the bird house should also be painted or varnished. Of course, birds also make dirt and natural wood is difficult to clean properly.
By the way, you should let the nest box air out for a while before you make it available to your little garden dwellers.
The ideal location for your bird feeder
Once you have your finished birdhouse in front of you, all you have to do is find the right place. Here you should first of all distinguish whether it is a bird feeder or a nesting house. A lot of people don’t even know the difference.
- nesting box
A nest box should offer birds a safe place to breed and raise their young. But it can also simply serve as a refuge for certain bird species. Depending on the bird species, there are nesting boxes with different entry hole sizes.
- bird feeder
A bird feeder should not serve as a nesting place for the birds, but simply a place where they can find the food they need. They are a great help for birds, especially in winter, as they are usually less able to take care of themselves.
When setting up nesting boxes, you should consider the following points:
- It is best to install them before winter, because then they provide a safe place for birds and other small animals to hibernate.
- If you want to hang the nest box somewhere, you should only use rustproof nails and wires.
- According to the Nature Conservation Union, the ideal height for installing a nesting box is two to three meters.
- The opening should face east or south-east so that there is not too much direct sunlight. In addition, it is not on the weather side.
- The interior of the nesting box should of course remain dry. Therefore, it should never be hung backwards. Otherwise it can rain inside.
- If you want to hang several nesting houses in your garden, you have to pay attention to the right distance. If they are all intended for the same bird species, there should be a distance of at least ten meters between them. If they are for different bird species, there must be about three meters between them.
If your bird feeder is a feeding station, the right location should also meet a few requirements:
- Protection against moisture and extreme heat
- Far enough away from panes of glass to avoid collisions
- Protection from cats, martens and other predators
If you want to put a birdhouse on the balcony, you should also keep in mind that it will also create dirt. So it will probably be necessary to clean this place more often.
