Birdhouse workshop 
     
     draws a big crowd 
     
    
   
   
    
     BY DAN MCASK I LL 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Farm Center, April 27th, 1987. It was quite an evening. Geoff Hogan, 
     
     Bill Bowerbank and I set up the room for 40 people and we figured that if 20 to 
     
     25 people came out we would have an excellent turn out. By 7:10 P.M. we were 
     
     out of chairs and, in the subsequent 20 minutes, we finished filling Room 107, 
     
     the kitchen, and part of the entrance. In all, over 60 people attended the 
     
     workshop. 
     
    

    
     Along one side of the room we set up a display of bird houses including a 
     
     Ducks Unlimited wood duck nest box, a galvanized metal wood duck cylinder, a 
     
     flicker nest box (complete with its wood shavings and sawdust packing), a 
     
     kestrel nest box, a tree swallow nest box (with swivel side opening), a bat 
     
     box, a shelf nest (complete with nest anchoring nails), commercial bird feeders 
     
     and nest boxes from Island Seed, and the Island Nature Trust's bird feeder. A 
     
     collection of mounted birds from Island Wild completed the display component of 
     
     the evening. Handouts featuring designs for tree swallow nest boxes, a variety 
     
     of entrance templates, and a list of books on bird house construction and bird 
     
     feeding were provided to those present. In addition, a display of bird house 
     
     construction books, bird feeding books, and bird identification keys were on 
     
     display for attendees to browse through. 
     
    

    
     The formal part of the evening started with Geoff giving a slide 
     
     presentation on landscaping for wildlife, the need for nest boxes for birds and 
     
     other wildlife, and the types of birds that could be attracted in various 
     
     habitats. I followed Geoff's presentation with a session on the construction, 
     
     mounting, and maintenance of bird houses using the bird houses on hand to 
     
     illustrate various features. 
     
    

    
     I Our next enhancement session "for the birds“ will be a workshop in the 
     
     early fall on bird feeder construction. This will take place before the Island 
     
     Nature Trust's 2nd Annual Bird Seed Sale. We hope to‘See you there. 
     
    
   
   
    
     P.S. If you would like copies of the handouts distributed at the workshop 
     
     please drop me a note. ] ' 
     
    
   
   
    
     Nest Box Entrance Sizes: 
     
    
   
   
    
     House Wren . l" - 1 1/4" circular 
     
    

    
     Chickadee, Nuthatch, & Downy Woodpecker 1 1/4" circular 
     
    

    
     Tree Swallow 1 1/2" circular or 
     
     15/16" high, 2 - 3" wide 
     
    

    
     Common Flicker . 2 1/2" circular 
     
    

    
     Kestrel, Saw.Whet Owl, or squirrel 3" circular 
     
    

    
     Barred Owl . 79 with rounded corners 
     
    
   
   
    
     Entrance Size References: ' 
     
     Henderson, Carol L. 198?. Woodworking for Wildlife. Minnesota Dept.. 
     
     Natural Resources Nongame Program. 
     
     Canadian Wildlife Service. 1977. "Nest Boxes for Birds”. CWS, P.O. Box 
     
     1590, Sackville, N.B. EOA 3C0. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Tufts, Robie W. 1961. The Birds of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Museum, 
     
     Halifax, N.S.