DIY ~ Natural Nesting Material Station for Birds
A suet feeder doubles as a natural nesting material station for birds!
It’s spring time and your garden birds are getting busy setting up housekeeping. Help them out by providing easy to find nesting materials!
First of all, don’t be too tidy when cleaning up the garden. Leave some areas with small twigs, leaves, sticks, grass and plant clippings and short pieces of straw. Make sure any plant materials you set out have not been treated with pesticides or lawn chemicals.
If you put out yarn or string, cut it into tiny pieces that can’t wrap around a little bird foot and only use natural colors. Bright hued yarn can alert predators to a nest location!
We have an inside, long-haired cat that gets brushed daily. I save the discarded hair and stuff it into suet feeders for the birds’ easy access when nest building in March. Please do not, however, use pet hair that contains a flea treatment. Usually I have enough kitty hair to fill the suet feeders four or five times and, believe me, it disappears quickly! If you don’t have a suet feeder, they are inexpensive to purchase. Or you can just put the hair on a bush for the birds to find.
(* Note: human hair is not recommended due to length and hair product residues. Also, dryer lint, even if untreated, doesn’t hold up outdoors.)
A suet feeder doubles as a natural nesting material station for birds!
