Note that the plan calls for nailing a 3/4-inch strip onto the boards which are the ends of the house. his makes the 11 1/2-inch board the full 12 1/4 inches necessary to make the rooms 6 x 6 inches. Any less space per room will discourage martins and encourage sparrows.

Watch where you place your nails, as you will want to saw the dados (grooves) and roof pitch after the strips are added. Because of its nail-holding ability, solid lumber rather than plywood works best for the ends. Drive l-inch brads on either side of the room dividers to hold them in place. Leave the brads extended 1/4 inch above and below the ceiling/floor panel. If you don't have a table saw to make the dado cuts, you can nail two 1/2-23/4-inch strips of 1/4-inch plywood to the inside ends to form the grooves. In this plan, a l-inch space is allowed in the attic for insulation.

A l-inch Styrofoam panel provides superior insulation, but a few sheets of newspaper sandwiched between sheets of corrugated cardboard works well, too. The vent holes in the ends can be 3/8-5/8 inch in diameter. Note that the front pieces are cut 1/4 inch short in height. This, too, allows for attic ventilation and makes it possible to remove these fronts to clean the boxes. Use a 3/8-inch dowel for the roof perch. You may shingle the roof, but this is not necessary. Paint the entire house white.

Do not stain or paint the house dark colors. Holes should be at least 2 inches in diameter; 2 1 /4 1/2 inches is recommended. Rectangular holes 2 x 3 inches (high) are also suitable.

Just follow these instructions for bird house patterns & you'll have no trouble

Installation

Erect the house on a pole or pipe 12 to 18 feet high in an open area away from trees. This house is light enough to mount on telescoping poles which are commercially available. This allows cleaning. Have your martin house constructed by April 15 and preferably by March 25. Holes may be blocked with strips of wood in the fall and winter to keep out starlings and sparrows. Clean out old nests in October. You may want to locate it close by any style of unique bird feeders that you may have installed.

Biology

Martins usually lay four or five eggs. Incubation is about two weeks, and age to first flight is about four weeks. Martins build only one nest per year, but they may renest if the first attempt is an early failure. After flight, martins will return to the house for about two weeks to roost and perch. Martins feed on the wing and eat a variety of flying insects, including flies, beetles, moths and cicadas. They wont decimate bee hives. Scouts-mature males-may arrive in late March. After aggregating in large flocks in late summer, they depart for wintering grounds in South America during late August and early September.

Comment

Martins are sometimes difficult to attract, but it's easier if you have some well constructed purple martin bird houses in place. Well-shaded lawns with big trees are poor habitats. It may take a year or two to attract martins to a new house; don't get discouraged. If after two years you are still unsuccessful, try moving the house to a different location-sometimes 25 feet can make a difference. Don't expect a nest in every room. Four nesting pairs in a 12-room house is good occupancy. Spare rooms are used for roosting and for young, preflight birds. Also, sparrows will likely fill a few vacancies. Before the martins are nesting, leave the sparrow nests alone to avoid disturbing the martins.

Though some birds migrate south for the winter, there are still some around during the cold months. Food is hard to find, especially when there is snow on the ground. By feeding little birds near your home, you can help them out and enjoy the benefits of their presence as well. Birds are great entertainers for winter months when you're tired of television. And in the spring and summer, they'll return your favors by eating the grubs and insects in your lawn and garden. Remember, if you start feeding birds, you should do so all winter. They'll become dependent on your feeder in time.

Here are a couple of ideas for easy-to-make & unique bird feeders. You need:

a large pine cone
about 2 feet of thin, stiff wire
peanut butter
corn meal
suet (optional)
bird seed (optional)

Run the thin wire through the top of the pine cone and secure it well (string can be used unless you have squirrels, who can lift the pine cone with the string).

"Magic Mix" - Mix peanut butter and corn meal to a consistency that is just sticky, but not crumbly. You can add a small amount of suet during cool weather when it will remain fairly hard. Fool around with the amounts of ingredients, but the idea is to reduce the amount of (expensive!) peanut butter yet leave the mixture gooey enough to stick to the cone. Bird seed can also be added to the mixture but is not necessary. Press the mixture well into the "shelves" of the cone, filling it as full as possible.

Fasten the cone to a tree branch or clothesline so that it hangs 1 to 1-1/2 feet down from the branch and away from the trunk or pole. Then wait for robins and other small birds to find your treasure! (Larger birds like blue jays and grackles will be too heavy for the feeder.)

If you don't have pine cones, you can purchase a small amount of 1/4-inch mesh hardware cloth (the small mesh keeps large beaks out). Make a cylinder of the cloth about 6 inches long and 2 inches in diameter.

This can be fastened at the bottom with small nails to an existing bird feeder, or you can put a bottom on the cylinder (a board or a piece of hardware cloth will do) and hang it as you would the pine cone. If desired, cover the cylinder with a small pie pan and latch it down. Fill the cylinder about 2/3 of the way with "Magic Mix." You might be lucky enough to attract the Carolina wren, which can't cling to a pine cone, but will really enjoy your peanut butter treat.

By taking the little time it takes to construct one of these hanging bird feeders, you'll find you get an endless amount of enjoyment watching our feathered friends, & you'll likely find yourself building more specialized types, such as oriole bird feeders etc.