The 2025 Birdhouse Competition and Exhibit is coming up! Entries are due March 17-22.
Now in its 32nd year, the Ogden Nature Center announces the 2025 Birdhouse Competition and Exhibit.
Important Dates
- March 17-22, 2025 -- Entries will be accepted at the Ogden Nature Center's Visitor Center front desk. 966 W. 12th St., Ogden, Utah. Open Mon.-Fri., 9 am - 5 pm and Sat., 9 am - 4 pm.
- April 17 at 5:30 pm -- Opening reception and exhibit stroll for competition winners. Winners will be notified to attend. Refreshments will be served.
- April 18 through June 30 -- Birdhouses will be on display for the duration of the exhibit. Entries left at the Nature Center after July 1st will be added to the permanent collection or discarded.
How To Enter
Bring your birdhouse to the Ogden Nature Center from March 17 to 22, 2025. Entries will not be accepted after 4:00 p.m. on March 22nd.
You can submit your entry form online or download, print and complete the form. Please note that if you submit your entry form online, you must bring your birdhouse to the Nature Center between March 17-22, 2025.
Online Entry FORM - Click Here
Competition Goals
The goals of this birdhouse competition and exhibit are to:
- Encourage the construction of functional and aesthetically pleasing birdhouses
- Encourage the use of environmentally sensitive materials
- Demonstrate ways to attract wildlife by creating unique backyard habitats
- Inspire creativity in backyard habitats
- Encourage artistic and hand-crafted approaches to birdhouse design
Entrants may visit the Ogden Nature Center to look at the installation site and research birdhouse styles. Ogden Nature Center has several resources on creative birdhouses and construction requirements to attract a variety of birds.
Awards
- An interdisciplinary jury will select several entries in all categories: adult, children, and family/team. The top winners will receive cash awards.
- Special awards will be given for well-designed entries that incorporate recyclable materials and non-toxic finishes, such as homes for birds.
- Exhibitors whose works are chosen for the exhibit may designate whether their works are for sale. All works must remain on display for the exhibit through the end of June. Entries left at the Nature Center after June will be considered a donation. Ogden Nature Center will not charge a commission on pieces sold.
- To keep quality birdhouses permanently displayed at the Nature Center, the top birdhouse builder will be awarded a "commission award" of $200 cash, and the Nature Center will offer to purchase the birdhouse or have the builder create another, with a commission of $200.
- A Big Year! This year marks the Nature Center's 50th Anniversary! In addition to our regular categories, we will have a special award this year for a birdhouse that best celebrates the Ogden Nature Center.
Exhibit Guidelines
We will accept one entry per person. All birdhouses must be original works created by the exhibitor. Commercially produced birdhouses or assembled kits will not be accepted. Ogden Nature Center reserves the right to refuse submissions. There is no fee for entering. The event judges will select which birdhouses are accepted into the exhibit. A limited number of entries will be accepted for the exhibit due to space restrictions.
Size limitations: The base of the birdhouse may not exceed 24" square. The height of the birdhouse may not exceed 36" tall, not including the post.
No propane tanks, please.
Consider DURABILITY when designing your creation.
The Ogden Nature Center encourages using recycled, reclaimed, or sustainable building materials. Please consider the environment when choosing your materials.
All birdhouses must be freestanding and ready for installation outdoors. You must provide a perch for your birdhouse -- a post or attach a very sturdy hanger if your birdhouse is lightweight. We prefer posts. We will install birdhouses on posts at a depth of 1-2 feet -- so be sure your post accommodates the depth of planting.
Liability
Ogden Nature Center is a secure facility with chain link fencing surrounding the property. However, exhibitors are reminded that birdhouses will be installed outdoors in a nature preserve. Works will be subject to wind, rain, sun, and severe weather, not to mention an occasional "avian guano bombing" by one of our resident "fly-bys" such as songbirds, hawks, or Canada Geese. Also, most birdhouses are displayed within reach of visitors, and the trail is not monitored. By entering the exhibition, the exhibitor accepts responsibility for displaying their birdhouse under these conditions. Works are not insured, and the Ogden Nature Center accepts no responsibility for loss, theft, or damage.
Sponsors
Huge thanks to our generous 2025 sponsors who make this competition and exhibit possible: Jeremiah's Restaurant, Wasatch Audubon Society, Ogden River Dental, Pat & Glen Richter, Jack & Jodi Livingood, Robin & Brad Farr Family, The Prairie Schooner, Ogden Blue, Intermountain Farmer’s Association, and Shepherd's Bush.