Spring is on its way and the birds are getting busy building nests in my garden.
Have you ever had the opportunity to see a bird’s nest up close? It never ceases to amaze me how they create nests from different materials.
Every year, I like to help the birds that visit my garden by setting out nesting material to help them build their nests with.
One of the easiest ways that I like to do this is to put it into a suet cage, which is an easy way to provide nesting material within easy reach of birds.
A suet cage us normally used to place suet in to feed birds. But, they also make great containers for nesting material. Suet cages are very inexpensive and are available in many places where bird seed is sold.
Fill the suet cage with different nesting materials and hang from a tree.
It is easy to find nesting material to set out and you probably most have many of these items already.
- bits of yarn, twine or string
-small twigs or pine needles
- grass clippings
- pet or human hair
- cotton batting
Make sure the nesting material is in small pieces that birds can easily pull from the suet cage and carry in their beaks. Avoid using any material that has been treated with chemicals.
Put the suet cage up in a tree, shrub or hang from a pole where you can observe birds taking bits of nesting material for their nests.
What type of nesting material have you seen nests made out of?
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I also use the suet basket for nesting material. While cleaning out last years hanging basket, I realized that the birds could use the coconut liner for nesting material, so I just put it into the suet basket for them along a ball of lint from the dryer.
Susan, just a heads up… The people at Cornell Lab of Ornithology and others do not reccommend using dryer lint as an offering for birds nests. The following is a quote from their website… “Dryer lint from synthetic fibers becomes crumbly after it’s rained on and dries. Some laundry detergents and fabric softeners may leave harmful residues. We don’t recommend offering dryer lint. “
Please be careful using dryer lint for bird nesting material. If you use dryer sheets, the lint will collect some of the chemicals used in the dryer sheets and the baby birds could be harmed.
A female oriole decimated coconut fiber liner last year.
I like putting small bits of yarn out, too. The often weave intricate, colorful baskets.
FYI: I’ve read a lot of places not to put out dryer lint. When it gets wet, it packs together into a solid layer and can cause eggs to float and rot or babies to drown.
Save all of your small pieces of yarn it is a great thing to use.
Lint and cotton balls can hold in moisture and cause chilling or drowning of eggs and young. It can also grow mold, causing respiratory diseases.
Am glad for the information about dryer lint. I have been putting it out but will stop!! Thanks again
Don’t know if human hair would be good either. Given all the chemicals we use, even shampoo, could make it harmful to birds.