This is Bird Note. Driving down a country road in eastern Ontario, there's a

surprising sight by the roadside. Dozens of vibrantly colored eclectic bird

houses sitting atop 12 foot poles. Alan Hurst lives nearby and is one of nine

core volunteers maintaining these bird houses. They're historical, they're

whimsical, and they're functional. It's called Bird House City and it's in a

conservation area boasting close to one hundred bird houses with 30 under

renovation. It started in 1980 with one bird house and the goal was to attract

purple martens to the area. The initial bird house designs were based on

nearby historical buildings from the general store to the courthouse. It now

features a helicopter and a caboose bird house and many more. About a third of

them are occupied with several species reliably taking up residents. Purple

martens, rands, bluebirds, chickadees and tree swallows are the most common. The

operations team brought together 20 to 30 additional volunteers for hands-on

tasks. These volunteers are really the heart and soul because they're actually

doing the work. And these bird houses, once you take them down, some may need a

coat of paint and some varnish. Others need to be completely rebuilt. And Alan

says community support has kept growing. There is always somebody now walking

around their multiple groups on weekends, which is great and that wasn't

happening before. For Bird Note, I'm Arianna Rebel.