Birdhouse Building: At-home Activity for Families
Amy Gardner's kids work together on their birdhouse.
A Birdhouse Building event for kids and their families, scheduled for March 21 in Milton Mills, turned into a take-home activity for seven enthusiastic families. The event was part of our ‘MOOSE-ies for Families’ program, intended to encourage the next generation of conservationists by offering families ways to have fun together outside while learning about the natural world.
Education Coordinator Kari Lygren explained how it worked: “Families got to choose between an open style platform house for robins or phoebes and a classic birdhouse with entrance hole for smaller birds like wrens or chickadees. I had instruction sheets and a set of pre-cut and pre-drilled materials, prepared by our volunteers and ready for them to pick up while observing social distancing, since this was before the Governor’s stay-at-home order. Everyone was eager to take them home and assemble them.”
Former high school biology teacher and Board member Lorrie Drake helped plan the event. She explained that anyone can do the same activity if they have a way to cut and drill a few boards, “The instructions to build and place the birdhouses are available on our website. Click here to download robin platform instructions; Click here to download wren house instructions. Although it’s tempting, please don’t paint your birdhouse since some paint is toxic to birds. Try to get your birdhouse in place as soon as possible for birds to use this mating season. With luck, a pair of birds will move in. You’ll be able to watch them go in and out, first carrying nesting materials, then food for the babies, and eventually see the young birds emerge.”
Nine-year-old Acadia from New Durham and her mom Karin weretwo of the participants. Along with a photo of the completed platform birdhousemounted on a tree, Karin reported, “Acadia put together her bird house! It wasa nice distraction for a couple hours from the worries of the world! There arelots of robins in our yard. Hopefully some will move in soon!”
"The remainder of MMRG’s 2020 'MOOSE-ies for Families' in-person activities are indefinitely postponed until further notice. MMRG is developing ways to continue to engage with area families and will reach out with Facebook posts, E-blasts and web blogs. Click here to sign up for our E-news; Click here to read the new Our Families’ Space blog by MMRG Office Manager Amy Gardner.
MMRG is grateful to Middleton Building Supply for the earlier donation of a packet of pine boards and to volunteers Cheryl and Tom Giguere and Lorrie Drake and Brad Helfer for preparing the birdhouse materials.