A Simple House Songbirds Love

This reader made more than one of these birdhouses because he was won over by the sound of music.

For years, Kevan Judah built birdhouses to welcome whatever birds came along. But that was before a pint-sized vocalist won him over.

"Carolina wrens decided to raise a brood in a birdhouse like this right outside my office window," recalls Kevan, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. "The chalet-style birdhouse I'd put out 2 years before suited it just fine.

"I could see the birds up close—and even with the window closed, I could hear them. Man, can they sing! After that season, I put up another house like it, which attracted another pair."

Kevan's design calls for a 1-1/8-inch entrance hole, but you can experiment with other sizes to attract different birds. "Chickadees and wrens both like this type of house, so you never know what kind of bird will move in," Kevan says.

We dressed up our version of the house with a few coats of paint (paint only the outside of the house) and added some precut wooden decorations, which are sold at most craft stores. But if you choose to make the birdhouse from cedar, it's fine to just let your creation weather naturally.

"If you're a cedar lover like me, it saves a lot of painting time," Kevan points out. "It takes about 2 years for it to weather to that beautiful silver color."

Download the instructions here.