CARROLLTON, Texas — Texas is one of the country’s top birding destinations, with more than 650 bird species recorded across the state. As backyard birding continues to grow in popularity, one North Texas craftsman is helping people welcome birds while preserving memories of home.Matthew Sams builds custom birdhouses designed to look like customers’ homes, complete with detailed architectural features such as wraparound porches, archways and cathedral-style roofs.“I would say more than half of our birdhou...
CARROLLTON, Texas — Texas is one of the country’s top birding destinations, with more than 650 bird species recorded across the state. As backyard birding continues to grow in popularity, one North Texas craftsman is helping people welcome birds while preserving memories of home.
Matthew Sams builds custom birdhouses designed to look like customers’ homes, complete with detailed architectural features such as wraparound porches, archways and cathedral-style roofs.
“I would say more than half of our birdhouses are people buying them as gifts for their loved ones,” Sams said.
The idea began as a personal project after he and his wife built a birdhouse modeled after his grandmother’s home. What started as a meaningful gift eventually grew into their full-time business.
“Most of the birdhouses I can finish in one day, sometimes two in a day,” Sams said. “The reason we can build them so fast is because I put a lot of effort into the design.”
While the birdhouses are designed to resemble real homes, they’re also built with birds in mind. Sams says proper dimensions and entry-hole sizes can help attract specific species.
“If we can get the right room dimensions and entry-hole size, we can attract what type of birds go into the house,” he said.
Birding expert Oscar Carmona with Birding Texas and Beyond says creating a welcoming backyard habitat is one of the best ways people can support local bird populations.
“Creating that habitat, creating food sources, water sources are very important, as well as not disturbing them,” Carmona said.
Sams says he’s noticed more interest in backyard birding in recent years. He said although birds are often happy with a simple wooden nesting box, he enjoys the craftsmanship and creating one-of-a-kind keepsakes.
For many customers, the birdhouses represent more than a place for birds to nest.
“Homes are special,” Sams said. “I can’t think of a physical item that’s more important in people’s lives, so the idea that people want a keepsake of their house—and maybe they think it’s cute because birds are going to live in it too.”
As interest in birding continues to expand across the state, these custom birdhouses are giving homeowners a unique way to enjoy both the places they love and the wildlife in their own backyards.