Next spring, birds flocking north to Lawrence will have a few more colorful places to hang out in the area.

That’s thanks to children at Kansas University’s Hilltop Child Development Center, who have decorated birdhouses for sale this week in a silent auction.

Each year, Mike Pisani, an after-school teacher at the center, and his first- through fourth-grade classes decorate birdhouses and sell them to benefit needy families.

Pisani also creates a birdhouse each year, usually made to look like a KU landmark. Last year he created a miniature Fraser Hall. This year, he created one to look like the Campanile.

In the past, the students would paint them during the summer months.

“Everybody said ‘Wow, these are so great,’ so we moved them to the winter,” when the proceeds could benefit local families “adopted” by Hilltop, Pisani said.

Last year, the auction brought in nearly $600, he said.

Anyone interested in placing a bid can stop by the lobby of the Hilltop Center, at 1605 Irving Hill Road, from 7:15 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. The auction will close at 5:45 p.m. Thursday.