JAPANESE WHITE-EYE pagoda

Here's another project that requires roof parts that have compound miters. Such miters aren't difficult to cut, but I caution you to be careful. I used a compound miter saw to do the job. It's an accurate and quick way to cut compound miters.

The tower is made from one piece of wood. Make the long angled cuts using a band saw or jigsaw. Then smooth the cuts with a sander or block plane. To create the point of the tower, make the top miter cuts using a miter saw or sander. Attach the tower base to the tower with nails. Glue the roof parts to the square tower base. Screw the entire roof assembly to the nesting platform.

To finish, I painted the whole pagoda white and then used metallic acrylic paint in different colors to accent it.

Mount the platform on the side of a tree amongst the branches, approximately 6′ to 10′ high.

JAPANESE WHITE-EYE

Despite its name, the Japanese white-eye is the most common bird on the Hawaiian Islands. In 1929, Hawaii's Territorial Board of Agriculture and Forestry introduced these birds from Japan to the island of Oahu and later, in 1937, to the island of Hawaii. They are tamable, sociable birds who sing a beautiful song, making them a favorite cage bird.

Japanese white-eyes are 4″ songbirds with yellow foreheads, throats, chins, bellies and tails, white eye rings and olive-green backs. They are extremely energetic and acrobatic birds, constantly moving and hanging upside down and in every way necessary to search for food. Their diet consists of insects and nectar — as a matter of fact, the Japanese white-eye is a useful bird because it consumes large numbers of noxious insects and their larvae.

Cut out the tops. To make the tower, rough-cut the angles on the sides with a band saw, then smooth them with a hand plane or power sander. Use a power sander to shape the peak. Then tape, glue and fold the tops together while centering the tower between the tops.

Curve the front edges of the sides using a power sander or band saw. Then nail the platform together.

Shape the top of the back to fit the inside of the top assembly.

Attach the top assembly with galvanized screws. Paint the platform with your choice of colors.