Making a Nesting Material Bag to Attract Birds

Each year we have Tree Swallows and Violet-Green Swallows come to use our birdhouses for nest building.

This year I decided to give them some alternatives to the grass and moss we see them carry in.

I saved hair from my brush and cut yarn into short lengths. I separated the four-ply yarn lengths to make each section thinner and easier for the Swallows to fly with.

I used a small mesh bag that I got my onion sets in. I put the jumbled up yarn and hair inside the bag and used tweezers to pull some partway out to tantalize the birds.

Using tweezers to pull yarn and hair through the mesh for easy grabbing.

I hung the bag from the railing on our bridge to shore. This spot is almost directly under the birdhouses on the shed wall. I haven't seen any action yet, but birdhouse selection and nest building is still a week or so away.

The mesh bag of nest building material hanging from the bridge railing.

The All About Birds website has lots more information about attracting birds and helping them with nest building. Some addition items you can provide include: grass, leaves, twigs, fur, plant fluff, strips of cloth, and shredded paper. -- Margy