helping out our fine feathered friends....

**sabrelvssammy** · 02-19-2009, 10:54 AM

it's time to start getting ready for spring...we know it...the birds know it...and they will start building their little nests soon to raise their babies...

so this idea is nothing new...it's just a reminder the the time is coming up fast....

take onion bags (or any bags that are mesh)...fill them with dryer lint (i also use the lint from my sweeper..i have a bagless)..just shake out the 'dirt' first....fill it up...tie it closed and hang it from a tree or some other object....the birds will come and 'pick' at it and get goodies to line their nests..... (think of it as 'making quilts for the little baby chicks'...)

while we're on the subject of birdies...something else we have done...take a styrofoam ball (or other round object)...smear it with peanut butter and roll it in seed...hang from a tree.... (we used styr coz its lightweight to begin with).... birds love it (or at least ours do)....

**sunnysky24** · 02-19-2009, 11:55 AM

wow never thought of that i will have to do this.

**weo** · 02-19-2009, 12:00 PM

I have a bird and squirrel feeder, which is affectionately named, Flutters FlyNDine.

I feed them bagged bird seed from 20 pound bags. The Audubon brand from Kmart is really inexpensive, about 40 cents a pound and it is all edible seed, not filler and sawdust, like Wagner's Wild bird seed.

I get endless hours of enjoyment watching them from my window. And when the weather warms, I can sit quietly 15 feet from the feeder and few all the activity.

They seem to get along well together. And every one feeds from various levels and surfaces.

**sabrelvssammy** · 02-19-2009, 12:01 PM

you can get bulk feed from a farm store for really cheap....try them if you have one close....

**sabrelvssammy** · 02-19-2009, 12:02 PM

does anyone have a good/cheap/easy (by easy i mean not ALOT of ingredients) recipe for suet for the suet feeders ????

**Spirit Deer** · 02-19-2009, 12:36 PM

Birds love pet hair, too, so as you're brushing your pets to get rid of their winter coats (or picking it up in clumps off the floor) save it and put it in the net bag, too.

Our kids found a bird nest one time that had a chunk of serged thread in it from my industrial serger. Someone must have dropped it on the way out to the Dumpster with our trash, and an enterprising birdie found it and put it to good use.

**Patty A** · 02-19-2009, 12:43 PM

Here are some suet recipes, along with some other fun ideas.
Check your local farm stores for bulk bird seed. You can even use something like chicken scratch and the wild birds love it.

http://baltimorebirdclub.org/by/backyard.html

**Spikey1341** · 02-19-2009, 04:20 PM

We had a darling little squirrel make a nest in my fireplace chimney. She chewed through the mesh, built her next and when she climbed in it boom down to the flue. DH had a fun time getting her back outside. Thankfully no babies were born!

**sabrelvssammy** · 02-19-2009, 05:30 PM

ahh...i'm glad you didn't hurt her.....

**Debbie-cat** · 02-19-2009, 06:02 PM

Awww, I will definitely do that with my dryer lint!! Thanks for the idea. I love birdies.

**KimmieSC** · 02-19-2009, 06:05 PM

Thanks for the neat idea to put that dryer lint to use

I think I'll add in my tiny thread bits from stitching too in case the birdies want to really decorate with color!

**madhen** · 02-19-2009, 06:11 PM

What a coincidence that you posted this thread today! I went out this morning and hung four finch/sparrow nesting boxes, and then I get back in and read your onion bag/lint idea! I'll have to give it a try!!

I am hoping to hang another four boxes this year. I figured I got rid of all the brush in the surrounding area, which was a great cover for them, so I may as well try to balance my karma a bit with giving their babies some homes!

(On the plus side, the removal of brush doesn't seem to have hurt the quail population at all. They raise their babies in my herb garden every year! I KNEW there was a reason (besides laziness) that I didn't cut all those plants back!!

**ravenmaniac** · 02-19-2009, 08:03 PM

Thank you so much for the idea. I keep my bird feeder full all season long. I will put out my dryer lint and pet hair. I may have some scraps of yarn and string. My husband is a Maryland Natural Resources Police Officer. They find funny things in Osprey nests. One time they found a Barbie doll.