1985 - Volume #9, Issue #4, Page #20
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Welcome To Birdland
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His country home near Ridgefield, Wash., is surrounded by more than 200 bird houses of various shapes and sizes, all created and built by Chris in his workshop.
It's Birdland U.S.A., featuring single family dwellings, duplexes, apartments, condominiums and swanky mansions for his feathered friends - all available rent-free for a song. There's a Bird Cage Saloon, The First Bird Church, and Song Bird School, all of them moulted on long poles, well out of reach of cats or other would-be intruders.
Not a single birdhouse is for sale. "People often ask to buy them but I'm not in it for money," explains Gierloff. "I really don't know much of anything about birds but just enjoy having them around."
His labor of love started in 1942 when Gierloff, now 65, built his first bird house. "I discovered one wasn't enough so I kept building new ones every year." He still builds a few new ones each year but spends most of his time cleaning, repairing and repainting existing bird houses.
Gierloff and his wife Eilene welcome vistors to drive by and look at their Wonderland for birds. The country place where they and their feathered friends live is located a few miles south of Ridgefield, Wash. Their address is: Chris and Eilene Gierloff, 716 N.W. 179th St., Ridgefield, Wash. 98642.
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