Providing Nesting Material

I have been putting out dog hair from our Australian Shepherds for several years in onion bags. When the bag is opened we are careful where we cut it so it can be used for the hair. I use a bread twist-tie to close the bag and use a coat hanger that has been cut and had a hook shaped on each end...one to reach to the limb and the other for the bag. I have seen the tufted titmouse use it more than others but they certainly have a soft place to lay their eggs. I gave one to my Mother several years ago and her nosey neighbor had several questions for her about it.

Have a great Bluebird day!

Deb
adancer"at"avana.net

from Lithia Springs, Ga., approx.15 miles from downtown Atlanta out interstate 20.

I'm sure a weaver has alot in common with a bird building a nest:if dog hair is difficult to manipulate on a spinning wheel, maybe the birds have a similar experience. I would worry about tacking the baskets to a fence without knowing if the fence is used by cats. I've found that birds can be so engrossed in the task at hand they forget to keep en eye out. I'm thinking that a big inexpensive bag of cotton balls would be appreciated by birds. Perhaps the extras left after quilt making or sewing could be a source of  material.

Have you tried horse hair?

Tina

Rhonda Watts
Wilton, N.H.

Horse hair (manes and tails) is absolutely used by birds! There isn't an oriole or virio nest around here without copious amounts of horsehair. I save it up from grooming from late winter on, and put it out for nest building time. (Sorry, I don't cut it up; always have with string/yarn, for reasons mentioned, but never occurred to me with the horsehair. Not sure it would weave as solid a nest with shorter lengths of hair, anyway, and it's as nature made it.)

Also save my own hair combings, as well as the results of brushing the black Lab. Chickadees, especially, love fur-- between what dog and horses shed, they *love* this place. One hears/reads stories of chickadees landing on a sleeping dog and pulling tufts of fur, but I've never been privileged to see that!

The first-grade primer I use has a cute story, "A Rainbow for Sarah," about a girl who saves coloured string which a robin makes into a beautiful nest.

Anyone ever put out a pan of mud for the barn swallows?

Julie Clark
Lewiston, Idaho
jaclark"at"lewiston.com

We have many horses for neighbors, and the birds definitely use their hair in nests. We have especially found this to be true in our hummingbird nests! Those tiny little nests aren't any bigger than my closed fist, and those horse hairs are just wrapped around and around. It would sure be interesting to see a little hummer carrying a horse hair several times its body length!

Happy birding!

On Wed, 15 Mar 2000 08:13:17 -0800 "Julie Clark" jaclark"at"lewiston.com
writes:

...

I have some of my boxes out with some Llamas. The nest all have some Llama wool in them.I do not know if the Bluebirds will come back to there boxes this year.  Ten new Bluebirds were kill by House Sparrow last year. I have not seen the Bluebirds so far this year at the Llama loc. I do have a lot of Bluebirds at the Ganesee County For-Mar Nature Preserve where I have 32 boxes.

N 43* 04.511 W 83* 36.447
Maynard R Sumner Flint, Michigan

Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatian 6:7

Vivian Pitzrick, Amity Lake, Belmont, NY c. 90 miles SE of Buffalo

Yep. I've done it and in dry weather the barn Swallows use it faster than you would believe possible. However I don't put it into a pan but make a puddle in my gravel driveway. they prefer it quite damp and without stones.

In recent years Barn Swallows have been scarce here.

My thoughts were that any child you teach to put out something that will be thrown away like chicken eggshells, and if you teach them to hang dog hair in the tree is a kid that isn't likely to vandalize a birdhouse when he/she is older.

Tina

Im a little luckier than most in not having to put out materials for the birds to use, last year I had one of our TT using my head as a source for materials. Very light pecks designed to remove hair and as long as I didn't move he or she was quite content to have me provide its materials, they did this several times. I wonder if I will be so blessed this year? JoAnn Gossett, Guilford,CT

Did anybody see "Jeopardy" tonight? The clue was that Heloise says to throw dryer lint outside, and the birds will take it to use in their nests. I guess she didn't know that it would turn into dryer lint cement once it becomes wet!?!

Julie Clark

Hi, Julie and All:

I put the dryer lint in a plastic grocery bag and tuck it under the edges of the brush pile, on its side, with the handles tied to a couple of branches so no one can become entangled. The white breasted nuthatches use it in one of the small nest boxes; they had a layer about three inches deep and packed it down so that it was almost like felt.

Regards, Joanne
Reardan (Spokane) WA - Spokane is 35 miles west of the Idaho border
jhpowell"at"iea.com

...

I have tried taking lint, wetting it and allowing it to dry and when dry, it is just as soft as originally, which makes sense. If it is cotton or wool, why would it dry as hard as cement? Our clothes don't. Sheep don't walk around with hard fleece. Cotton doesn't get hard in the fields. Do you have so much minerals in your water that that causes it to harden when dry? Please experiment yourself and let me know.

Tina
No Calif

The person who said that lint hardens into concrete claims that people brought in nests to show them to her. I don't like to tell people that what they have seen with their own eyes is not credible therefore I since I got answers to my question that in fact certain birds do use their spit to help build a bird nest, my suggestion is that lint does not harden into something like concrete after getting wet, and rain wouldn't do it unless it was really weird rain, so how about coming to a conclusion that certain birds combine their spit with the lint and that is what hardens the lint, assuming that the people who brought in the nests didn't spray them with some sort of preservative to keep them, and forgot to mention it.

Tina
No Calif.

or perhaps it is the mud used by swallow type birds mixed with the lint that hardens including the lint.

Tina

Tina and all

Lint, by itself will stay soft when it dries. Usually when you find the rock hard stuff, you will find it loaded with soap, bleach, fabric softener, and minerals. Next time you pull a large lint ball out of your dryer, put a small amount of water on it and mix it around to see if you get soap suds. Most times you will. If you do get suds, save money and cut down on your laundry detergent.

Lynn near Reading Pa. ...

...

Try wetting some facial tissue or toilet paper, then letting it dry. It does turn hard. Perhaps this is what people are finding and thinking is lint.

--Jill Miller, Natick, MA
Mailto:MMS"at"TheMillers.com | 61 Lake Shore Road |
Web: http://MMS.TheMillers.com/ | Natick, MA 01760-2099, USA |
Voice: 508/653-6136, 9AM-9PM -0500(EST)| 42 18'00.79" N, 71 22'27.68" W|

Robyn Kells, Charlottesville, VA--in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mts.

[...] it had a little furry
stuff (can't tell whether from my cat, whose fur I hung out in a suet
cage... the cats are indoor cats) [...]

What a terrific idea! We have an "only child" indoor cat who sheds enough for an army, and she's just gearing up for "high season" now. Our odd little EABL pair hasn't started lining their nest yet (lots of progress, though...a mostly-finished cute little all-grass cup atop the remnants of the Chickadees' moss), and this would definitely make it easier for them, as well as putting to good use all that fur that otherwise would just be peeled in little mats from the brush and put in the garbage. Thanks, Katherine!!

Happy birding - rlk

Tena Taylor, Calhoun County, Mississippi

Just have to throw this in here....Each spring I shave my fuzzy Pomeranian's tummy, and this year I gathered up the clippings, put them in a wire suet feeder, and hung them by my main feeder. All disappeared quickly, in a matter of three days. Checking my trail last week I find a Tufted Titmouse nest about 1/2 mile from the home that was exclusively lined with Pom trimmings!

Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 10:12:04 -0400
From: "Katherine S. Wolfthal" kate"at"nirvana.ziplink.net
To: Bluebird-L Bluebird-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Re: 4Titmice

I do the same with fur brushed from my three indoor cats. Titmice and chickadees love it!

Tena Taylor wrote:

Checking my trail last week I find a Tufted Titmouse nest about 1/2
mile from the home that was exclusively lined with Pom trimmings!

Katherine
Weston, MA

Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 09:10:40 -0500
From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com
To: "BLUEBIRD-L" BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: more on bark mulch

Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas cloudy 80*F at 8:30 AM

There is no need to place any type bark or sawdust in your box for most of the cavity nesters you will encounter in your "bluebird" nestboxes. Woodpeckers, ducks and some of the birds of prey DO need some sort of filler for the box. Sawdust from a lumber mill (that cuts the logs) is preferable to sawdust from a cabinet shop as these shops cut a lot of material such as particle board which contains formaldehyde based glues. Most hardwood sawmills grind the bark off of the trees at the mill and this makes excellent nestbox material.

To speed the breakdown of wood fiber (composting) all that is needed is a source of nitrogen (green plant material or products like ammonium nitrate, or animal manure) water and frequent turning of the product to allow oxygen to reach the living organisms feeding and creating the heat needed to reach their optimum living conditions of about 130*F. Any sort of insecticide used on mulch will kill these organisms so companies will avoid contaminating their product. I would avoid the "designer color" stained mulches now coming out on the market as these could contain harmful preservatives but if so they will be listed on the bag. Avoid any product from the cotton plant as it is heavily treated during the year.

We have several experts that deal with wood ducks and owls lurking on this list and they need to post once again what has worked the best for them as box filler. For my gray and fox squirrels they prefer a box stuffed full of dried hardwood leaves. I use a 1/2" hardware cloth wire bottom on these boxes instead of a wood bottom as the squirrels droppings work their way out of the box and the leaves as they get crush also fall out and the squirrels themselves keep the box filled with fresh leaves. Wood ducks here will use anything from fresh leaves, old hay, pine needles to aged wood chips from tree trimmers. My Screech owls normally used the boxes with composted leaves & grass trimmings.

I see no reason in the south to add any material to the boxes for "winterizing" but in northern areas the use of pine needles as others have posted is a good choice as they do not absorb and hold much water as other leaves will. In the past some researchers placed a tight fitting box bottom of foam insulation inside the box to see if the birds preferred this warmer "mattress" but I never heard that it made much difference to the birds as often they roosted in uninsulated boxes nearby. If you have lots of boxes you can do your own "research" this winter. KK

Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 15:35:42 -0800 (PST)
From: The Doctor sytyf"at"yahoo.com
Subject: Tale of TWO Nestboxes - an update
To: BLUEBIRD BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu

Hello all,

The choice of nesting materials might be instinctive. Yesterday I wrote about dropping white pine needles into an empty nestbox where there isn't a white pine tree within 10 miles. Many times on my Indiana trail, I make nesting material readily available to the EABL and TRES; and yes, I will even drop pinches of fine grasses into a nestbox. You should remember that yesterday it appeared like the female Bluebird had removed nearly all the pine needles and began circling the inside walls of the nestbox with fine strands of grass. The nest was no more than 25% built.

Today at lunch time I checked the nestbox to find that she is now using the discarded white pine needles almost exclusively to complete the nest. I'm not sure if she has ever even seen a white pine tree before but she is now using them in her nest. I have piled up more needles in close proximity to the nestbox.

Evidently, I was the doofous here. I got ahead of her intentions to build a nest in the box. I had dropped in 24-30 needles which apparently became too cumbersome for her to seperate and align into a tightly wound nest.

Have a good day

Bob Sitarski a.k.a The Doctor

Jackson County Indiana & Clay County Illinois

Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 07:07:07 -0800
From: Linda Violett lviolett"at"earthlink.net
To: "Bluebird-L"at"cornell.edu" (BLUEBIRD-L) Bluebird-L"at"cornell.edu.
Subject: Re: Hello Everyone

Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif.

I routinely inspect used nests and boxes after the fledge and have never noticed sand under nests. But all of our trails have a unique set of conditions. Can you give us an idea of the quantity of sand under the nest? It must be a fairly large amount for you to have noticed sand *under* an active nest. Perhaps your bluebirds are foraging in a wet sandy area and carrying it in on their feet? You mention that you put up the nestbox a month ago and I'm assuming it was clean and/or new at installation.

Keep good notes, continue to share what you observe, and be sure to visit the past posts saved and indexed on Jim McLochlin's "Best of Bluebird-L" http://audubon-omaha.org/bbbox/bestofbbml/bblindx.htm

From: "Shane and Emily Marcotte" marcottesixx"at"hotmail.com
To: lviolett"at"earthlink.net
Cc: bluebird-l"at"cornell.edu (BLUEBIRD-L)
Subject: Re: Hello Everyone
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 01:37:59 +0000

The sand on their feet sounds like it could very well be what happened. There isnt a whole bunch maybe about as much as you might shake from a salt shaker in 3 or 4 shakes. Yes the box was brand new when I put it up and clean inside. There is an area near the box next to our pond that has sand from the construction of my home. The bluebirds land on the wires running next to the pond and dive down to the grass for insect treats.

From: Linda Violett LVIOLETT"at"EARTHLINK.NET
Reply-To: lviolett"at"earthlink.net
To: "Bluebird-L"at"cornell.edu" (BLUEBIRD-L) BLUEBIRD-L"at"CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: Hello Everyone
Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 07:07:07 -0800

Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif.
 
 I routinely inspect used nests and boxes after the fledge and have never  noticed sand under nests. But all of our trails have a unique set of  conditions. Can you give us an idea of the quantity of sand under the  nest? It must be a fairly large amount for you to have noticed sand  *under* an active nest. Perhaps your bluebirds are foraging in a wet  sandy area and carrying it in on their feet? You mention that you put up  the nestbox a month ago and I'm assuming it was clean and/or new at installation.
 
 Keep good notes, continue to share what you observe, and be sure to  visit the past posts saved and indexed on Jim McLochlin's "Best of  Bluebird-L"
  http://audubon-omaha.org/bbbox/bestofbbml/bblindx.htm 
 

From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com
Subject: sand and dirt in nests
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 07:13:06 -0600

Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas63*F this morning! I found the first Carolina Chickadee eggs on March 21!

Some eastern bluebirds will pull up grass, roots and all to build their nest. Especially when it is very wet, they will then carry quite a bit of soil into the box. As the grass dries out the constant workings of the female in the nest will then let the dirt work it's way to the bottom of the nest ending up on the nestbox bottom. A damp nest or leaking roof and this turns into mud gluing the nest to the box floor.

I was watching a flock of House Sparrows taking a dust bath which them seem to love to do to rid themselves of their body lice....I don't recall ever seeing bluebirds take a dust bath! They tend to bathe in water nearly everyday....This is another good reason to keep the "dirty" House Sparrows out of your clean nestboxes:-))) KK

From: Sweetolive [mailto:sweetolive1"at"att.net]
Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2004 7:16 PM
Subject: A Treat for Your Bluebirds

The past couple of nesting seasons, I have put a layer of  coir (coconut fiber) on top of the outer surface of the roof of the nest boxes. This is the same material that is sold for hanging basket liners. It is great stuff for the following reasons: It gives the box a natural flavor, it adds insulation from the elements, the birds love to walk around on it while pulling fibers out, and the female uses the fibers to fine tune the nest cup during nest building. Try it......your birds will love it. Olive Jones Louisiana   

From: Burnham, Barbara [mailto:Barbara.Burnham"at"zzz.zzz]
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 8:08 AM
RE: A Treat for Your Bluebirds

Olive, My neighbor uses coconut fiber to line her hanging baskets for summer flowers. The bluebirds often use this coconut fiber to line their nest. This photo shows the coconut fiber forming the center nest cup: http://community.webshots.com/photo/59353917/83437801pgUwTE The neighbor always tells me when "my bluejays" are taking the coconut fiber from her planters! She enjoys watching the bluebird antics as they pull the fibers out and fly away with them. I always invite her over to see the new babies when they hatch. Many other birds would use the coconut fiber for nesting, too. Barbara Burnham Ellicott City, MD

Elizabeth, Actually, many years ago, the Bluebirds discovered the grass pile next to the compost pile - you know how busy springs are for gardeners.... I hadn't blended my neighbor's grass donation into the compost yet. That original stack was about 70 ft from the Bluebird's nestbox. She seemed to prefer it to whatever else was around. So each year, I just continued leaving a stack of grass there. I do lots of composting, so the original stack was probably 5 ft high, 5 ft wide. Of course, the grass on the top gets very dry, so the Bluebirds seem to use "my" grass more in rainy seasons than in dry years. I believe that this is due to the fact that we have enough "natural" grass around, as I don't bag when we mow. In wet years, grass on the ground probably doesn't dry as quickly as the grass pile, and the female is likely to be spending less time in the rain, if she doesn't have to hunt for grass.

I love to experiment around with different ideas - so one year, I gathered up a bunch of pine needles and placed them in various large platforms about 30 ft from nestboxes. I didn't see a single bird using those pine needles, even though several different nests contained some needles. Some ungrateful Tree Swallows even had the nerve to fly right by the pine needles to use small pieces of bark off a woodchip pile :-)

I've read of people using large-mesh bags to hold cotton, grass, hair, feathers, etc for the birds' nests. I guess that's okay, as long as no synthetic materials are used. Personally, I don't worry too much about providing nesting materials. With good habitat (foraging areas free of
sparrows) & well-built nestboxes, most birds will be able to locate their own materials.

Dottie Roseboom
Peoria IL (central - zone 5)

To: rosedot"at"mtco.com
Cc: NA Bluebird Society; jsibio"at"comcast.net; owner-BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Re: Herbicides and nests

Dottie, I had the same thoughts about gathering safe grass or pine needles for the blues. I was considering doing the same but not having done so before was wondering how close to the nestbox would be good to place these safe grasses, and should they be in a pile?

To: elizabeth.young"at"spotplus.com; rosedot"at"mtco.com
Cc: NA Bluebird Society; jsibio"at"comcast.net; owner-BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Re: Herbicides and nests

Elizabeth,

Last year we had so much rain here that finding dry nesting material was a real chore for the birds. I hung several suet feeders filled with dry grass in a tree about 40' away. Where grass laying on the ground may take hours to dry out ( after a rain or dew overnight ) when put in wire basket suet feeders where air can circulate on all sides a half hour will dry the grass or pine needles completely. I personally would not hang these baskets to close to the nestbox as it attracts other birds as well. A starling also found the dry grass to it`s liking and tried to use it.

Evan - 15 miles South of Youngstown,Ohio

I am not sure they wait until the grass is entirely dry. I have observed nests slightly damp during the nest building stage. The first one built this year has been a little damp. All nestboxes on my trail are dry inside even during the rains and I am thinking when it gets time for them to build, they get in a hurry and build. I watched a female bluebird finishing her nest floor yesterday morning and it was well before anything had dried off. The finished slightly damp nests do dry out, I have observed. Has anyone else noticed this?

The grass and pine needles are a flyin'! Things are hopping on my trail!

Looks like I may have two nesters in my yard this year and if so, it will be the first time ever. There's one complete nest and more grass in the second one yesterday. I'm hoping!

Evelyn Cooper
Delhi, LA

I also have also observed the blues take damp and down right wet nesting materials into the box. But from what I have seen this is more by necessity than choice. Early in the morning the female will as a rule gather her material from our driveway or the side of the road ( the first places the grass dries out ). As the day progresses she will move into our yard to collect what is needed for the nest. As I mentioned last year was very wet and humid in Northeast Ohio, especially during the second nesting. The day the female began building her second nest happened to be a day sandwiched between 6 days of rain. She worked on it from 8:30 AM until 1:30 PM averaging almost 1 trip per minute ) on the only clear day we had in the previous 3. Overnight it began to rain again, and it rained off and on for the next 3 days making it impossible for her to build a nest with dry material. She did not return to the nest box until 3 days later and I observed her make 2 trips with nesting material ( it was raining and had been for the previous 6 hrs ). Even if she could have found dry material barn, open shed, etc. ) it would still have gotten wet by the time she got it to the box. Here is the interesting part, both trips she made she clung to the hole with her head under the eave of the house for a full 5 minutes before taking it in. Although I have seen them do that for a short period I had never seen one do it for that long. Could it be she was letting the grass dry a bit? Your guess is as good as mine. But that did give me the idea to try the suet baskets. My wife collected some grass and brought it in and dried it and we hung them after it quit raining where they would be very visible. Our box is on a 3/4" steel clothes line pole so we hung the baskets on the opposite pole (40' apart). Lo and behold if she did`nt go right for the grass in the baskets the next morning making numerous trips until things dried out a bit in the afternoon. She then went back to collecting grass from our driveway and the side of the road. I guess her taste in nesting material and my wife's taste were not quite the same.
As you stated Evelyn they will do what they have to do once the nesting instinct takes over, but from what I have observed if dry nesting material is available they will use it before they will use wet or damp material.

May all of your nest boxes be filled with blue:)

Evan

From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper"at"bayou.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 3:25 PM
Subject: FW: Herbicides and nests

Your observations are exactly that of mine. This morning, I saw the female busy building the nest in the second nestbox in my yard, so I am really going to have two!!! First time ever (this is 8 years)!!! She was gathering material before the pine needles and grass had dried this morning. It was interesting to watch. The male sat on a limb the whole time watching, guarding her as she worked on it. She got it about 1/3rd finished today. The nest in the backyard that is complete and was damp yesterday is now dry. I am expecting an egg any day now. For some reason, I just have the feeling that these two pairs are the ones that came to the feeder all winter. I saw six every day. I know for sure one pair is as this is the most beautiful male I have ever seen. He is very aggressive too!

I have activity in 12 of the 22 nestboxes as of today. It looks like the bluebirds are taking over the Chickadee nest in one as today the nest had the shape of a deep cup and I saw some grassy materials around the edge of it. The same thing happened at this nestbox last year. We hurriedly paired it yesterday and will see if they decide to be neighbors.

Evelyn

Thank all of you for your comments regarding herbicides and bluebirds.
Fortunately we've had a lot of rain since the city sprayed along the walking path, so I feel less concerned about the herbicide residue in the nesting material. I still plan to find out from the city what they used, though!

In other years I have collected lint from my clothes dryer, and pet hair, which I put out in the spring for the birds. I will now add dry grass to my offerings and hope the blues will use it. I'll collect some from the neighboring preserve during the summer and store it in my garage for the spring. I'll know that had no chemicals of any kind applied to it, and it will be ready for them in the spring. The second and third nestings are no problem as we're usually well into our dry weather then and there is nothing but brown grass everywhere.

Hoping for at least one egg by this weekend.

Barbara in Cloverdale, CA

I've read about putting out nesting material for birds and have come up with something interesting. We can use lint from our dryers but only white cotton lint since colored lint may contain dyes and sythetics that could be harmful to the birds. Also I read that when we put out string or jute for the birds we should cut it into short lengths about 2-3 inches so that when the birds are flying it won't get wrapped around their tiny legs and the branch they land on which would make them prisoners and they would die.
You can find a holder for nesting materials on www.gardengrapevine.com there are other bird items there too. I'm going to put up some of their bee houses this year also.
Bev W.

I had heard about this before, but this morning I witnessed it. I was having breakfast and my old Chow/Lab mix dog was sleeping in the back yard. I happened to look out the door and saw one titmouse on the ground pulling the long black hairs off the dog. Then another one landed right on the dog and started pulling. At one point the dog raised her head a look at them, but then laid down again. Tit mouse got los of hair.
At this time of year whenever I brush the dog, the excess hair goes into a bag for the birds. They must have liked it and came back for more.

Up to 4 bb eggs today.

Lynn near Bernville PA

Morning, Lynn:

I have seen them doing this as well. In fact, I have a 1x2 foot piece of fake, shaggy fur that I use to wrap my various hand lenses in my field bag. On several occassions, I have returned to the truck, only to find a chickadee or titmouse tugging on it after I left it rolled out on the tailgate.

You mentioned saving dog hair, another thing you might want to try is to save the cotton lint from your clothes dryer for them. For years, I have placed it in my empty suet cages during the breeding season and they absoluetly go crazy for it. Cardinals and several species of warblers also like it. Since the lint doesn't hold up reall well in the rain, you may need to move the suet cages to a more weather protected area.

Take care,
David

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