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Bird's Eye View - Bird Houses and Bird Feeders

Birdhouse by Bird's Eye View


Dairy Barn Birdhouse

Jack & Georgia Hildahl love the wild birds that visit their 5 acre nature preserve and it shows. Each bird house or bird feeder that leaves their rural, Pacific Northwest workshop is carefully built to Audubon Society and U.S. Fish and Wildlife specifications.

They use extra thick cedar for superior durability and essential insulation for nestlings. Vent and drain holes relieve heat, increase natural air circulation inside the nesting box and keep the nest dry.


Bird Feeder by Bird's Eye View


Handcrafted Bird Feeder

They're put together with coated nails and screws, reinforced with glue to help prevent possible leaks and increase longevity. They're available natural, or finished with water base nontoxic paints and stains.

The attention to detail is incredible. Some of these bird houses and bird feeders have over 100 parts, not to mention 100's of cuts and grooves.

Of course, each bird house and bird feeder comes with instructions for mounting, cleaning and basic information about the birds most likely to use them.

Prices range from $109.09 for the Southwest Adobe Bird House, to $213.64 for the Hay Barn Bird Feeder.

Read What Jack & Georgia have to say about why they do it:

Dear Bird Lovers,

Our building birdhouses and building bird feeders philosophy developed some time ago. We live next to the Columbia River north of Kettle Falls, Washington. Our small 5+ acre mini farm is sort of our personal bird sanctuary. Last year (1999), as best we can tell, we had 16 renters in our birdhouses and they graced us with approximately 55 new born; robins, tree swallows, western bluebirds, nuthatches, and wrens. The bluebirds had only two hatches this year. :-{ They all paid their rent on time. Songs, aerobatics, and insect cleanup (garden patrol) were their primary payment.

Our fields and trees provided additional nesting areas for hummingbirds, morning doves, meadow larks, killdeers, king birds and western tanagers. In addition we’ve had several hundred others (over 60 species) stop by to enjoy a meal at our feeders. Again, the payment was always paid in full. Why all this nonessential information? Let us explain.

Our first bought birdhouse (years ago) didn’t do too well. It was real cute but made of thin plywood, no vents, drains, clean outs and a hole that was 2 1/4" in diameter and only 2 above the nesting area, one baby fell out and we lost others to heat and predators (cats, starlings and ravens could reach right inside). We have found that some of our bluebirds had built nest 4" deep, letting the little nestling fall out long before they were ready to become fledglings. I actually felt like I had committed these little ones to an oven and certain death. It didn’t take us long before we realized that putting up a birdhouse was a serious responsibility, if you really care.

After much research, we could not find both well constructed birdhouses and styles that would fit into our natural mini farm landscaping. So we decided that building birdhouses, our way, was are best solution. It didn’t take long before we realized that building birdhouses was a lot easier said, than done. How could something so simple become so complex? It was easy for us because we wanted something that would last, fit into our backyard naturally, and provide security, safety and comfort for the birds.

How to make something so small with such thick boards, getting all the vents holes for circulation just right, drainage holes just right, the hole and height just right, easy cleaning, easy mounting and then to make them attractive for the backyard was a real challenge. Needless to say, we realized that the time and materials spent, initially, was making our birdhouses very costly. However, when we saw the results, it was worth it.

This brings us to the present. Our landscaping was best served with old country homes and old barns. Word got around and our local antique and gift store (tourist attraction) started buying them, then the feed store, next came some locations in Spokane, finally, over to Seattle. Now we have decided to extend our product to "The Internet".

We thought long and hard about inexpensive units or the cute deco type birdhouses, but just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it, we really love building birdhouses and would not compromise the construction, detail work and the aesthetic character of these units. We now know there is a market for our birdhouses and bird feeders, even though they are a little expensive, yet we all know you pay for what you get. Ours are individually hand crafted and as you will see, labor intensive, some with over a 100 parts and 100's of cuts including simulated board or log grooves.

Our most of our satisfied customers are the serious birder that wants the best and our designs are compatible with their backyard. Our goal is to maintain quality, acceptable standards (both Audubon and U.S Fish and Wildlife) and a rustic uniqueness.

Jack & Georgia Hildahl



By
Birds Eye View

Birdhouses:

California Spanish Mission

Country Home

Dairy Barn

Hay Barn

Log Cabin

Old Barn

Southwest Adobe

Bird Feeders:

Country Home

Hay Barn

Mountain Log Cabin

Southwest Adobe Home


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