Bird's Nest from sticky wool

I saw this on The Imagination Tree blog.  Luath can be a bit hit and miss with sticky hands, but I thought we would give it a go.

You need some wool cut into short strips.  PVA glue.  A nest shape mould.

Cover the wool with glue – I put the wool into a tub, we squeezed the glue over it and gave it a good mix.  I separated the wool into colours and tried to separate the strands.  My plan was for me to use only the brownish wool to make a next for our Spring table centrepiece and that Luath could use whichever colours she wished.  Luath picked up the strands in four big clumps, stuck them onto her mould’s outisde and said “You can do it yourself”.  So I am guessing she wasn’t too impressed!
 
The two moulds were left to try on the windowsill. They dried quickly as it was a sunny day and we had the radiator on.  I am not sure Luath’s nest would retain the egg for long but it is colourful.  I quite like the fact that the are messy, although most real bird’s nest look so much neater.
 
I have added the brown next to our Spring table centrepiece.  Luath’s colourful nest is on display on the windowsill.
 
(Luath is 25 months)

Nature – Nesting Material for birds

We’ve had a feel of spring this and last week – frosty mornings but sunny blue sky days.  Daddy pointed out a sparrow with some nesting material in it’s beak so they must think spring is coming too.  So I thought we would prepare some nest supplies for the birds.

Providing easy access to nest building material means that birds use up less energy and time building/finding and so can use more on egg  laying and chick caring.  It also means that you might encourage chick rearing near at hand for you to watch.
    
Some things that they can use – make sure non toxic and natural (no plastic/nylon):
Nature – twigs, dead leaves, dead grass, grass clippings, moss, pine needles, feathers
Household – human/pet hair, wool/string/thread (in 3-8 inch pieces), shredded paper, cotton balls
Put items in a few different places – hanging baskets, fat ball holders, draped over branches, in small piles, in little mesh bags.  Seemingly house sparrows select materials only a few metres from their nest.  Try to place somewhere easy to access but sheltered from getting too wet.  Some birds including blackbirds use mud in their nests so a small muddy puddle can help.

What we did
Last week Luath and I had given the dog a trim (Luath was in charge of the comb even though she wanted me to fetch her scissors). I had saved the hair for the birds.
We collected some fleece caught in the bushes.

Picked up some dead leaves, small twigs, pine needles and moss from the side of the path in the woods.

We then placed them into a fat ball holder to hang in a shelter spot and left some out in the open near where we feed the birds.

We will gather more supplies and place in a few more spots as I think it is only the sparrows who are currently nest building.  I am sure the other birds wait until later in March, but it was a fun activity and a reminder to us to be prepared.
 
(Luath is 25 months)

Nature - Feeding the birds – homemade fat balls

 
This week Luath and I made some fat balls for the birds that visit our garden.  It was quick and easy but a bit messy and sticky.  There are quite a few different suggestions on what and how to make them (sometimes called suet balls). The recipes include lard or suet.  I am a vegetarian so I had a look online to see if vegetable suet was OK to use. There is a debate about whether vegetable or meat suet is best.  The main concern is that vegetable oil or spreads can melt and coat the birds feathers, so these definitely shouldn't be used, but vegetable suet is OK although meat suet is better according to the RSPB.

Whichever fat you use the ratio is 1/3rd fat to 2/3rds other ingredients.  Different birds prefer different foods but ideas include birdseed, grated cheese, chopped fruit, oats, unsalted peanuts/butter. We placed our ingredients in a bowl and mixed.  I then formed the mixture into balls and placed in the fridge for an hour to harden (seemingly they freeze OK).

We then placed some in a fat ball holder, one on the bird table and one on the ground feeder.  For the first two days the birds ignored them, but since then they have paid them a bit more interest but not as much as I thought they might.  I wonder if we have not quite got our local bird populations preferences quite right.
 
I have now placed a small tub in the fridge to store any of our left over cheese, fruit etc from meals/snacks that we can’t reuse.  It isn’t usually much but over the week it should help make one ball for the birds.  I wish I had thought of this when Luath was starting to eat,  all that dropped uncooked food would have found a great home.
 
Shared with Eco Kids via Organic Aspirations
(Luath is 25 months)