I've spotted a couple of bluebirds in our yard the past week.
One afternoon last year, I watched a very dedicated bluebird go back and forth, back and forth across our house gathering what must have been high quality nesting materials. So this year I've decided to help him out.
Welcome to the Big Box Store of Bird Nesting.
(Less flying, More nesting.)
I gathered up a load of (ding-ding-ding) FREE materials that will spruce up any nest wannabe. Twigs and sticks? Those are for the birds. (Well, so are these.)
1. Dryer lint (Some recommend this, some don't. I added just a little)
2. Short lengths of yarn
3. Pet hair*
4. Grass
5. Cotton balls
6. Short strips of fabric
*The pet hair was donated against my will. I made certain my Human included this photo of my scowling face to show my disapproval.
Stuff all the pieces into a clean suet cage. This should be a nice one stop shop for the birds as they get busy building their nests!
I haven't personally tried this before, but I'm hoping that this year I can watch Mr. Bluebird build his nest with some of these bright leftover pieces that were otherwise just sitting in my basement. :)
I saw a Bounce dryer sheet in our of our nests, too. Maybe it made the babies softer and static free :-) Cool idea. Great use of a suet feeder when it is getting too warm for suet.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea. Now I want to see them build their little colorful condominiums. At least you might be able to spot their nests. Have a great spring weekend.
ReplyDelete@Toni - ooh, didn't think of a dryer sheet...good idea.
ReplyDelete@Becca- yep! I tried to pick out bright colors. :)
Watching birds collect nesting materials is a lot of fun! I'm not a big fan of grackles, but it's *hilarious* to watch them grab 2' long ornamental grass blades and fly across the yard with them. :-)
ReplyDelete@Alan - I'm not a fan of the grackles either...they come in barbarian hordes over the yard. But THAT would be funny!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I have done this for two years now and the birds love it. I have a lot of nests that are built in my garden. I like to think because they find easy nesting materials. Note, that if you use grass it is preferable if no chemicals were used on the grass. I have also added small sticks to mine. I hope you get the bluebirds nesting in your garden!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. I hope you will let us know how it turns out.
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm interested to see what they prefer and take first!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea. Birds will use a lot of materials to build their nest (they took all of our basketball basket net in one year), but I wonder if they will like dog hair...
ReplyDeletewhat a great idea..I have just let them fend for themselves in my messy garden...hope to see what they like from your assortment...would be willing to put out materials for them...
ReplyDeleteYou have provided some interesting and colorful nesting materials. Let us know which materials seem to be in highest demand. Your suet feeder holder is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic idea! Have you noticed anything gone missing yet? The birds pull the straw out of my bunny's cage all the time. It's about time I put up something that is easier for them to retrieve. I do so wish we had bluebirds around here! So far only robins, red cardinals and sparrows..
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great idea!
~Wendy