Many people use feeders and baths to attract birds, but offering nest materials can also be effective for bringing birds to your yard, and may even entice them to build a nest and stay a while. You can place nest material on the ground in a pile, so long as it is sheltered and won’t blow way. You can also place materials in a mesh bag and hang it from a tree or fence post. Just make sure the mesh is large enough to allow birds the pull the materials through. Optionally, you can purchase hangers specifically designed to offer nesting materials. These are more durable and are more attractive than mesh bags.
Among the items you can offer:
- Sticks and twigs
- Leaves
- Grass
- Short pieces of yarn or string
- Human or animal hair
- Feathers
- Wool
- Cotton or other stuffing material
- Shreds of cloth
Keep items you offer roughly 6 inches long, but varying the size will be helpful to your feathered friends.
