The naturally round bird house

Samuel Gerber came to his new task, type houses for birds, only in old age and by chance: In spring 2016, he discovered a wagtail nest under his beach house awning on Lake Murten. The guests amused him. He became interested in birds and read up. In search of better and more beautiful nesting opportunities, he met ornithologist Paul Leupp in Kerzers. Together, the two developed a nesting concept on the large lake property. In accordance with the information sheets of the ornithological station Sempach and the ornithologist’s many years of experience, twelve different types of nesting boxes were placed on 5000 square meters. After that, about seventy young birds (various kinds of tits, wagtails, sparrows and starlings) flew out of their conventional nest boxes.

The architect realized what conventional birdhouses lack and what birds’ needs are.

Various attempts with hollowed tree trunks failed. On the one hand, because the bark fell off in a very short time or the wood cracked. On the other hand, because a hollowed-out trunk is naturally a feast for woodpeckers, as the ornithologist Leupp knows from 50 years of experience.

The basic architectural idea of the hollow tree trunk has remained, but Samuel Gerber has perfected the structural implementation for the intended use. Martin Schuck, the project manager for species promotion at BirdLife Switzerland, also helped him with this.

Article in «Terre&Nature»

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