How To Shake The Winter Blues By Making Bird Houses For Sparrows
If you find yourself being stuck inside during the cold
, winter months, with nothing to do, and you need an idea to help shake the winter blues, why not take up a great hobby like making bird houses for Sparrows. Making bird houses is not only easy it's also fun, and if you don't want to keep and use the bird houses for yourself, you can give them away as gifts or even make some extra money selling them at craft shows, yard sales or online.
The design for a Sparrow bird house can be as detailed as your imagination, or as simple as a shoebox shape made out of wood, and turned to hang or stand on end. There are just a few things you will need to make Sparrow bird houses; wood, a good weather resistant wood works fine in a size of around 3/4 inch thick. Some people use plywood that's been treated for outdoors use, while others stay away from treated lumber, saying the chemicals can harm the birds, I have made bird houses from treated plywood for years, and have never seen any harmful effects done to the birds that make their homes in them, the choice of wood is up to you.
You will also need a nice saw to cut the wood with, either a power saw or a good wood cutting hand saw works fine, a vise to hold your wood securely while cutting it, ruler or tape measure to measure your wood pieces, and either your choice of nails, screws or wood glue to secure the pieces of wood together, you will also need either a jigsaw or a hole saw attachment for a drill, to make the entrance hole for the Sparrows.
Cut out and assemble your Sparrow bird house like you are making a narrow shoebox, it should have 4 sides, and a top and bottom, some people make the roof slanted so the rain will easily fall off, while some folks just leave the roofs flat and use a waterproof cover or coating to repel the elements, again the choice is yours on how elaborate you want to make the Sparrow bird houses.
The one thing you should add are a few small holes in the bottom for more ventilation and to allow any rain that enters the entrance hole from a blowing storm, or melting snow, to drain properly. The average size most designers cut the entrance hole depends on the type of Sparrows in their region, you want a hole that's just big enough for an adult Sparrow to enter, and yet stops larger aggressive intruders. Again, you can search the internet for a little more information on the entrance hole sizes.
Once you have your Sparrow house done, you can fasten a wire hanger onto it, or create a pole type hanger, the choice is up to you. You can paint the bird house in any color or style you want. Making Sparrow bird houses is not just a great hobby for fun and possibly earning some extra money, it's also a great way to help shake the winter blues.
There is a website that describes numerous activities and other methods to help eliminate the Winter Blues, this website is called: Winter Activities - and it may be found at this url:
http://www.winter-activities.comYou may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter or on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.
by: Robert W. Benjamin
Household Appliances - An Aid For Homemakers Or a Major Downside? FanHouse Preview: Cowboys at Vikings Sure You've Got The Right House? This Doesn't Look Right.... Do Halfway Houses And Drug Rehab Centers Really Work? Get A Building Inspector To Chaperon The House House For Rent By Owners Problems Faced In Your House With Improper Guttering And Soil Pipes Want Your Own House, Plan for It and Have It Kids Cubby House Accessories The Benefits Of Whole House Honda Generators You Attract Investment Expansion In China's Household Electrical Appliance Store I Walk Into A Choosing the Best Type of Housing Which Is Better Renting Or Buying A House?