Pacific Northwest Birds

Posts Tagged ‘nesting materials’

It may be June, but some birds are still nesting. I’ve been watching a mama goldfinch grab nesting materials from my hanging “nester” as she prepares for what I’m assuming is her second brood of this breeding season. (American goldfinches have one or two broods per year, with 2-7 eggs being laid per brood).

An easy way to help birds as they build their nests is to take an empty suet cage, fill it with nesting materials, and hang it near your feeders. Put it out starting in February (pine siskins will most likely be the earliest partakers) and just leave it. Ours went unused for a few weeks until the goldfinches decided it was time to lay more eggs. Because this is our first year putting out nesting materials, I’ll be leaving it up all year as an experiment to see who makes use of it (and when).

In the fall, I’ll be putting some out where it’s easy for the squirrels to get to, as that’s when they’re preparing their own nests for winter hibernation.

Do you put out nesting materials, too? Which birds do you see making use of it the most?

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Duncraft Hanging Nesting Basket

Baby birds need warm, cozy nests! Cotton tufts and aspen fibers are super-soft, dry fast and give nestlings a comfy cushion to rest on as they grow. Birds instantly recognize these superior materials and return again and again to gather and add them to their nests. Green, vinyl-coated wire basket is filled with cotton and ready to hang. The roof is made of wood, and dimensions of the basket are 3-3/4 x 9 inches.

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Learn all about the birds in your own backyard! Birds of the Pacific Northwest: How to Identify 25 of the Most Popular Backyard Birds is now available for you to read (and take with you!) on your Kindle, Kindle app, or on your PC or Mac.

Female American goldfinch photos at top: copyright 2013 Pacific Northwest Birds/Sally Dinius.