United States
£ GBP
The Birdhouse Book is the most authoritative book available for creating safe, sturdy, and easy-to-build homes for many of North America's favourite birds. This updated edition includes important new and timely topics including impacts of climate change on birds, nestbox monitoring for community science, native plants, and how birders can help birds.
Written with those who truly want the best for birds, The Birdhouse Book explains how to build and place functional DIY bird homes that are safe and appropriate for more than 20 classic North American species, from wrens to raptors. Each of the easy-to-build boxes and shelves within is accompanied by cut lists, specially created line diagrams, and step-by-step photography, making the projects accessible to those with even the most rudimentary woodworking skills. In addition, this practical and beautifully presented guide is packed with colour photography and information about the bird species covered: Wrens, Warblers, Bluebirds, Flycatchers, Swallows, Titmice, Owls, Flickers, Kestrels, Chickadees, Ducks, Mergansers, Swallows, Doves, Swallows, Robins, Finches, Phoebes, Loons, Swifts, Herons, and Ospreys.
Detailed information will help you properly place and maintain the homes to attract birds. And because these projects are the product of years of experience and field testing, you can be sure you're getting the best advice regarding proper design, safe construction materials, and correct home placement to mitigate exposure to elements, pests, and predators. Finally, beyond the birdhouses, you'll find out how you can contribute to the larger birding community and even enhance your birding experience.
Foreword
Introduction
Woodpeckers: The Original Birdhouse Builders
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Many birds need a helping hand
- Climate Change Impacts Birds
- Gardening for Birds
Chapter 2: Build homes to benefit birds
- Just Visiting! Migratory Birds Use Nest Boxes Too
Chapter 3: Birds in boxes
- Wrens (Bewick's, Carolina, House)
- Warblers (Prothonotary)
- Bluebirds (Eastern, Western, Mountain)
- Flycatchers (Ash-throated, Great Crested)
- Swallows (Tree, Violet-green) Titmice (Tufted, Oak, Juniper, Black-crested)
- Nest Box Innovations Old and New
- Owls (Barred)
- Owls (Eastern Screech, Western Screech)
- Flickers (Northern)
- Owls (Barn)
- Kestrels (American)
- Bird Heroes
- Chickadees (Black-capped, Carolina, Mountain)
- Ducks (Wood Duck)
- Mergansers (Hooded)
- Swallows (Purple Martin)
- Roost Boxes for Colder Months
Chapter 4: Birds outside of boxes
- Doves (Mourning)
- Swallows (Barn)
- Robins (American)
- Finches (House)
- Birdhouses in Science and Education
- Phoebes (Eastern, Say's)
- Owls (Burrowing)
- Loons (Common)
- Swifts (Chimney)
- Herons (Great Blue)
- Ospreys
Chapter 5: How to help the birds
Bibliography
Index
About the team
List of building plans
- Carolina Wren nest box
- Prothonotary Warbler nest box
- Xbox (for bluebirds, flycatchers, swallows, and titmice)
- Barred Owl nest box
- Screech-Owl nest box
- Bower Flicker box
- Barn Owl nest box .
- American Kestrel nest box
- Chickadee nest box
- Wood Duck nest box (for Wood Ducks and Hooded Mergansers)
- Purple Martin gourd rack
- Mourning Dove nest basket
- Barn Swallow L-shaped platform
- V-shaped shelf (for American Robins, House Finches, and Phoebes)
- Covered shelf (for American Robins, House Finches, and Phoebes)
Margaret A. Barker, a Chesapeake Bay-area writer and educator, grew up watching feeder birds in East Tennessee thanks to her bird-loving mother and grandmother. Covering environmental stories during a broadcast journalism career in the southeast, including at WGST, Atlanta, led to an MS degree via the Audubon Expedition Institute and an internship with Audubon's Washington, DC, office. She managed the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch and later the Kids Growing Food school garden program for Cornell's Department of Education. She writes for newspapers and magazines, and she is co-author of Audubon Birding Adventures for Kids, the Audubon Birdhouse Book, The FeederWatcher's Guide to Bird Feeding, and Feeding Wild Birds in America.
Elissa Wolfson has written and edited numerous environmental, botanical, ornithological, and veterinary publications. After graduating from Cornell University, she worked as an environmental educator for a decade, earned an MS degree, and transitioned into environmental journalism. Her clients include the National Audubon Society and Cornell University's Laboratory of Ornithology and College of Veterinary Medicine. She is former editor of E, The Environmental Magazine, and Cornell Plantations Magazine, current editor of Rationality and Society, author of 101 Cool Games for Cool Cats, and co-author of Audubon Birding Adventures for Kids, the Audubon Birdhouse Book, and the American Museum of Natural History Pocket Birds of North America, Eastern and Western Regions.
