It’s All For The Birds

    Wild birds love to make nests out of bits of fabric, wool, twigs, etc. Have you ever discovered a nest full of colorful bits of cloth or ribbon? It is always an exciting find, especially for children. It is as if the mother bird was decorating her handmade home for her new babies.

One way you can help this decorating process along is to leave colorful nest-making supplies out in the garden for the wild birds to find. You never know when you might discover bits of those items in a hidden nest later in the season.

If you have a friend who knits or crafts with natural fibers, ask them to save their scraps for you — just little snips of ribbon, yarn, silk or wool that they cut off the ends of their projects. My sister knits silk scarves and she saves all of her silk clippings for me. Any long strands should be cut up further so that you are only left with tiny pieces.

Take those colorful bits and place them in a wire basket, mesh bag or other container and set them outside in the garden. I use an old galvanized chicken feeder for some of my bits.

Then hide the container somewhere for the birds to discover. Of course, I keep my nest-supply chicken feeder far away from my pet garden chickens because they would just eat the fibers! That would not be good!

Then, later in the season, look for nests with the colorful bits. It is always a thrill to see the ribbons woven into a beautiful nest.

A touch of color can do wonders for all home decor – Don’t you think?