Bird box building workshop brings families together

Families, friends and couples gathered at Carbon County Environmental Education Center recently to learn how to build a bird box together.

Franklin Klock, program assistant for CCEEC, led the workshop that lasted just over an hour. There were six steps to building a basic bird box designed to attract the most varied bird types.

Due to a popularity in wanting to attract specifically blue birds, he gave the advice to turn the box toward the east and away from the south, which will allow for morning light and prevent overheating.

He explained each of the six steps and noted the trickiest step is the door at number five because it must be able to open to allow for cleaning. If hammered together completely, the door will never open and the bird box will only last for about one season with nothing else likely to use it again.

“I’m going to show you tricks as we go along,” Klock said at the beginning of the event. “They’re not just bird box tricks, they’re carpentry tricks.”

Klock explained the importance of using the correct wood piece for the roof because of a pre-etched groove to prevent water from going into the box. He credited the trick to an old New England carpenter who built houses made of wood.

As a result of the number of children who worked on the project alongside their parents, Klock reminded everyone of the importance of properly using the hammer.

“We tend to sit down really low, and when we try to hammer, what’s happening is your hammer is hitting on an angle, which causes the nail to bend over,” he said. “In order to fix that, get up on your knees and hammer straight down, and that’s going to prevent a lot of those bent nails out there.”

The participants also created a lock for their door to prevent predators from getting into the bird house. Klock explained the importance of setting up the bird houses this time of year but noted that the birds may not take to the house right away.

He said birds tend to make nests in the rotted holes of trees that are leaning over or falling down but the trees are cut down because they’re deemed dangerous.

Klock said, “We’re taking homes away from wildlife when we do that, so by putting these up, you’re replacing the homes that we take away on a regular basis.”

He gave examples on how to hang up the bird houses and dispelled a rumor about nails being bad for trees. He credited the myth to old tree cutters who ruined saws because of the nails. However, he suggested using a bungee cord in its place if preferred.

As a father of a 3-year-old, Klock admitted to catching a sense of the “winter depression” once in a while. However, he said, in the age of electronics and children becoming sedentary, he wanted to create a family-friendly event that gave parents and their kids an excuse to get outside.

“It’s hard to get kids out to play if the parents are sitting down,” Klock said.

He explained what makes the organization’s overall goal important is the related health and social benefits of partaking in outdoor activities including lowering the need for medicine and increasing a sense of family togetherness.

The CCEEC is working on creating both pre-assembled boxes and do-it-yourself boxes to sell to any interested parties.

The workshop is held at least once a year usually near the winter season.