By Sandy Beck: Education Director Emerita, St. Francis Wildlife Association
As soon as the earth warms, trees leaf out, buds become flowers and the dawn chorus grows louder, birds begin weaving their new nests.
DO NOT offer yarn, string, human hair or alpaca and cotton fibers. Photo by Sandy Beck.
Many “experts” on the internet suggest we help by offering bits of yarn, string, human hair or alpaca and cotton fibers (sold in balls at some stores). This is not a good idea.
Every year wildlife rehabilitators receive wild birds, both babies and adults, with these materials wrapped around and entangled on their feet — sometimes cutting off circulation and resulting in amputation.
Do not offer laundry dryer lint either. The lint collected in your dryer filter may seem like ideal nesting material, but it will soak up water and may be steeped with remnants of detergent and softener.
Natural fibers like wool, alpaca and cotton can also retain water and result in hypothermia.
Bird leg with yarn entanglement
And a warning about offering pet fur: If your pets are treated with flea and tick products that stay on the fur, this can be harmful to birds collecting it for nesting material.
Our yards have plenty of natural materials for nest building: twigs, dried leaves, grass and flower stems, pine straw, shed snake skins, Spanish moss, lichen, etc.
The best way to help wildlife is by:
planting native plants that attract the native insects they eat;
not using chemical pesticides that poison their food supply;
trimming trees and bushes only from November through February; and
keeping your cats inside, especially during this baby season.
You can also help cavity nesters by leaving snags (dead trees) standing or providing nest boxes. Find great nest box plans and placement advice at the Cornell Lab’s Nestwatch.org
Happy spring!
Mother Northern Cardinal incubating her eggs. Photo by Rosie LeRoy
