I've never heard that hummers were cavity nesting birds: they construct a small nest made of lichens and moss held together with cobwebs built on top of a tree limb and lay 2 eggs. The nest itself is about the size of a silver dollar. But wrens and chickadees are a different story; they would love a nest like this. One thing when constructing a birdhouse is that the size of the entrance hole is VERY important in order to discourage other invasive birds. For a wren house, a 7/8" hole is ideal and on up to 1 1/4" for mountain bluebirds and nuthatches. There are charts available on line. But very nice work!
Yes, I agree with you, hummers don't nest or live in holes like woodpeckers. They build a nest for laying usually 2 eggs and when not nesting they perch on a branch and slow their heart rate down while sleeping. I live in Northern California and every year we have hummers nesting in our back yard. One of the most interesting birds to watch.
as soooo many others have noted, hummingbirds nest in the open, not in a box... but I love your concept and I plan on adapting your idea for a wren house... with the added idea of a hinge for a clean out trap...
The only problem is that hummingbirds do not nest in houses or other cavities. They build nests on the forks of trees, in the open. But the sam basic plan can be used to make houses for cavity-nesting birds.
A storm brought down several branches that will be perfect for this. Mine will be used for decoration, so I’ll incorporate beads and other items. I’ll make a few with metal roofs using tin cans or some copper. Thanks. This was exactly the video I wanted.
Hummingbirds nest at my house every year for over 40 years….they pick a branch with a V at the end and they spin a web around it..I have many bird houses..they don’t use but that’s cute for maybe a finch
Thank you so much for your beautiful house you made! That is such an amazing idea. I love hummingbirds and I am going to make these sooner than soon! You are truly blessed by God the Creator my friend!
Thank you for this idea! We are clearing our new property and have a ton of cedar logs of all sizes that are now going to be turned in to hummingbird and other bird houses! I'm going to put a hinge on that top so I can clean it out each year. Thanks again! And don't worry about those dogs. We can hear you just fine. It was a great video
rather then glue the 'top' back on, put a screw on one side of the cut end, make it the bottom of the nest log, so the 'bottom' can be pushed aside and the nest cleaned out at end of season.
Thats fantastic sir!🎩 i have a bunch of branches i collected from longmont CO's SunSet golf course last year when it turned 100 years old. Now i know what to make with them. I have a clientele IE captive audience in we all play the course.
Beautiful project, but the wasps would love this even more than any of our wild birds. I made a birdhouse out of a cowboy boot once and the wasps moved in within 48 hours!😢
I live in the PNW and we have a breed of hummingbird that don't migrate and stay all winter. This would be great for them to roost in during the winter!! I may need to make some before the cold weather hits!
I hate to burst your bubble, but hummingbirds do not nest in houses. They build their nests on tree branches using moss and spiderwebs. Nice work, but basically useless other than as an ornament.
All of us who make these KNOW that hummingbirds do not use them. They are called hummingbird houses due to their size and shape. They are ornamental. No bubble burst.
Nice construction idea. This would probably be great for all sorts of birds! I'm going to thumbs up and subscribe to support your channel because you support birds!
I have my doubts about this nest. I don''t know about all hummers, but I do know that some build their nest on tree branches as more common birds. So the question is do hummers like nests like woodpeckers and screech owls? I think maybe not. My other doubt about this, and I presently feed hummers every day at my three feeders, is that a strict diameter of 1.5 inch tube is not big enough to allow room for a nesting hummer. Their becks are usually about that long not counting the actual head. So, I doubt they could even fit in there let along build a nest and raise a family.
I'm not sure how a box will do; but, my mom has had one that built her nest in the end of her clothes line (the metal cross bar) & another one who likes to build her nest in the hole of an old ancient elm tree, so I'd think that as long as it's a small opening, if she likes it, she'll build there....(?)
Thank you great Idea, I made a change so that the piece cut off is the bottom put back on by two screws that way the bird house can be cleaned by removing the two screws on the bottom.
Pretty nice hummingbird house, we have a lot of Hummingbirds here, & I've never heard of a H-bird house. Shoot, I've seen guys with less skill build houses for people!
wow thank you love the hb house. so natural looking. I think I'll try gluing a circle the size of the top hole to the lid. so I can lift it off to clean. it will have o be perfect match so it wont come off easy
I LOVE THIS!! After my raised veggie beds are planted, I need to make a few of these close by the feeders. Do you think it a good idea to paint them after pulling the bark off?! Thank you!!!!!
Also, No. No bird or animal for that matter wants their babies close to food where other animals congregate. And why introduce something unnatural like paint which can have toxic chemicals that would harm the birds? The whole point is to make it natural. Of course, no hummingbird would nest in this bird house; it's not what they do. Other birds, though, might but it needs cross-ventilation; some very small holes at the top and bottom would keep the air flowing Also, as convenient at it may seem, a perch invites other creatures like predators to come check it out.
As I was watching this I thought how HBs wouldn’t use it. I don’t believe they have the affinity to be enclosed in such a tight space without a direct view of the world around them.….birds seem to know their vulnerabilities and take that into account of how they live….i.e., the cardinal pair I have year-round are always watching nervously everything around them…always looking over their shoulders…as if they know their species isn’t that numerous and thus must be extra cautious. Anyway…the HBs nests are open so that the fledglings can beat their wings as they’re nearing their adult sizes. I have a small birdhouse that only House Wrens have used in the last ten years or more..it has a large space inside compared to the size of the birds. I would think this birdhouse is too narrow and not likely to be used by any birds for that reason. The cavity would have to be much much larger. Then maybe…..
Hi Jo-Ann, I agree with you, I have not seen any humming birds go inside a bird house yet. If I get lucky, maybe a new millennial humming bird will start a new trend.
1. Male hummingbirds do not build nests. 2. Female hummingbirds only nest for laying eggs, otherwise they don’t use them. 3. No hummingbird will nest in a hollowed out section of wood.
We don’t know that hummingbirds won’t nest in a house like this. Maybe the poster has seen them nest in a cavity. If they don’t they should. Two years in a row I’ve seen the furry tree rats eat hummingbird eggs as well as eggs from a dozen songbird nests.
If people would just do some research they would discover Hummingbirds don't nest in houses. They build their nests in the crotch of a tree. Before you spend the time making one look it up for yourself.
Do you mount them on a wall or a tree or a hanging string???? I have no idea. But, I do have a ton of hummingbirds that empty two of my feeders in less than ten hours daily winter and summer. I think they have come to rely on the food source at my residence so I am vigilant about keeping the feeders full and fresh for them.
Do some research. Hummingbirds are not cavity nesters and will not use a birdhouse. The house is probably too small for any bird that will use a house. A house wren is about the smallest I know of.
I've had a house wren/carolina wren stuff a 5 gallon watering can with sticks and then build a nest in the very back on top of it all. . metal watering can on its side. Thy do it the same way year after year. If I forget to clean it out they build another nest beside the last one. Even the babies are loud, noisy little suckers.
Now what do you do? I guess you just put it in the yard LOL! You need to explain the entire process buddy, where to place, how high to hang it. Thanks for the idea though 👀
Not to be contrary, but when you do some research on hummingbirds, you will find that they do not nest in this type of structure !! So rather than waste your time, find a bird that will appreciate something you decide to build !!
Hummingbirds DO NOT use nesting boxes. Do your research before misleading people. You might get a house wren to use it if it isn't too small of an enclosure.
hummingbirds build a nest, they are not cavity nesters and will NOT use this cute little nest. The idea will work for some cavity nesters, but not this small.
