These Cleverly Furnished Bird Feeders Are Just Delightful
Thanks to one Maine artist and birder, the next tiny-house trend is here.
A curious Tufted Titmouse peeks into the arch of the doorway. Is it too late for the open house?
Impeccable timing, actually. The snackswere just served: a smattering of delicious black sunflower seed, bought in bulk. It’s the kind of bountythat draws a crowd . . . one with feathers, wings, and a steady toe grip. After the titmouse, a White-breasted Nuthatch stops by. Later in the day, a familyof American Goldfinches troops in.
The visits are brisk and business-like, but Jada Fitch is satisfied. Such guestswereexactly what she'd hoped forwhen she first attachedthe homemade,dollhouse-likebird feederto the window of herhousein Portland, Maine.Fitch, a wildlife artist and children's book illustrator by trade, has been an avid birder for years. Over time the two passions became intertwined: In college, she tried to draw every bird species in North America in alphabetical order (she got up to Chuck-will’s-widowbefore life took over). More recently, she’s collaborated with the Maine APP Society and other local nature organizations, such asthe Eastern Trail Alliance and Wild Seed Project, “iԴڴdzܰ.”
Fitch first came up with the concept of tiny, furnished bird feedersin 2015 while taking a creative break during a longer drawing assignment. It took her a weekend to put it all together.
“I had the idea to make a little diorama to put in my window for the birds to land in,so I could get some close-up pictures,”Fitch says. “Both of my feeders are directly in front of my desk, so I see them come and go all day.”
The construction process for the first housewas simple: Fitch took a cardboard box, measured the interior “walls,” and cut paper accessories to size forgluingdownafterthe paint jobdried. She carvedout a door and windows, and attached a little porch on the front of the structure to act as a perch. She then added theinterior décor: painted throw rugs,framed “portraits” of bird family members, andcardboard couches and armchairs, creating a whimsicalliving room in the process. Lastlyand most importantly, she scattered seed across the furniture andfloor and Duct tapedthe house to her window.
The end result resembled a scene out of a Wes Anderson movie—or , which often feature adventurous animals living in human-like spaces. All she had to do now was sit back, camera ready, and wait for her new visitors. The early birds were skeptical, she says,but their misgivings helped her perfect her design.“The first few [individuals] that came into the house wouldn’t come all the way in,”Fitch says. “They’d just sort of poke their head in and peck at feed. I think that was partially due to the rectangular door. When I made the ‘hobbit house’ with the round door, they seemed to go in a lot more willingly.”
Once the wing traffic picked up, Fitch started posting regular updates on and . Her primary guests were species native to Maine: Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, and American Goldfinches.
As her onlinefollowing grew, she experimented withthemes, including a and anothershe dubbed“,” whichwas dedicated to thestate bird of Maine, theBlack-capped Chickadee.
Soon, people were asking about adding Fitch’s creations to their own backyards. With help from her husband, Fitch designed a series of feeders called“Home Tweet Home,” a mini, bird-friendly version of the house the couple lives in, and put it up for purchase . The easy-to-assemble kits sold out in just four hours.
Butfans wanted more.To meet the high demand, the artist is nowworking on a second line of“Home Tweet Home” kitspriced at $12. “My husband and I are making them as fast as we can,” Fitch says. They plan to stock 80of the fully furnished sets on the website, plusin Maine APP shops andlocal outfitters, byspring.
Because the first “Home Tweet Homes”were made out ofrecycled cardboard, they couldn't be permanentlyleft outsidein the elements.The latest version will be waterproof, Fitchsays, and should be impermeable to rain and snow. The primary material is coroplast, a nontoxic, corrugated plastic that’s often used for lawn campaign signs. The watercolors she’s using are also safe for wildlife.
Fitch’s early focus groups led her to make somearchitectural changes as well. “I put a few more perches on the outside and made the overhang—the lip—a little bit bigger so I could fit some more feed on there,” she says.After all, it’s the tastyfood, not the tasteful décor,thatkeeps the birds coming back for more.