It is nesting season for birds in the UK right now, and if you want to *literally* help them build their nests, a nesting material holder (£6.99, Amazon) is the affordable, and often adorable, garden addition wildlife experts recommend.
If you’re on this page, you likely love attracting birds to your garden, and honestly, who doesn’t? But, following recent advice by the RSPB to stop feeding birds, I’ve been looking for other ways to give them a little TLC over the nesting season.
A nesting material holder is often used to hold materials like wool from a tree in your garden so that wild birds can take what they need for nests. Here’s why it’s a worthy addition to any wildlife garden this summer.
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What are nesting material holders?
It was spending time at my boyfriend’s parents’ house over Easter that I first became aware of nesting material holders, and I could immediately see the merit. In their garden was a small ceramic sheep that held wool for birds to take. It looks very similar to the ‘Woolly’ Hanging Ceramic sheep with Wool, which is currently £6.99 on Amazon, and was a very cute sight dangling from one of the trees.
Wildlife World
‘woolie’ Hanging Ceramic Sheep With Wool
Not only is it an adorable garden feature, but it can be highly beneficial to wild birds looking to make a home in your garden this summer. Nesting season is an incredibly important time for birds as it is when they raise their young. It’s so important that the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 forbids maintenance tasks like cutting hedges and trees between 1 March and 31 August to ensure nesting birds are undisturbed.
Nesting material holders are an easy way to support birds. You simply fill the holder with nesting materials and hang it in your garden, so that birds can freely take what they need.
‘Holders can be great for birds, especially birds in urban gardens where nesting materials are not as readily available as in rural areas – they make natural materials more readily available where sometimes scarce. Small garden birds like our favourite robin and wren friends can thereby readily collect soft fibres to line their nests – improving insulation in their nests and providing essential comfort and heat for birds’ chicks,’ explains James Ewens, a wildlife expert from Green Feathers.
‘Holders need to be used responsibly, though, and it’s important to consider the materials you’re using to ensure they’re as safe and beneficial as possible for birds. They can be supportive for birds if used safely, but materials should be bird-friendly first and foremost, as more placement can expose birds to predators, artificial materials can harbour bacteria that harm birds, and some materials are more prone to getting wrapped around their legs.’
When browsing nesting materials myself, I spotted that a lot on sale were made of synthetic fibres, which aren’t always bird-friendly or particularly good for the environment. Instead, you should opt for sheep wool (£4.99, Amazon) and other natural materials like twigs, feathers, moss and even pet hair.
‘The best materials to place in a holder are usually things that mimic their natural nesting resources – so things like natural sheep wool, pet fur like dog and cat fur (but only if the pets are flea-treated, small twigs, dry grass, or moss. Avoid synthetic materials fibres like any sort of polyester or plastic, anything chemically treated, or anything unnatural,’ James’ confirms.
He also adds that even if you don’t have a holder, you can still leave out nesting materials for birds to take.
‘A very wildlife-friendly way to support birds during this time is leaving a small pile of natural materials in a sheltered corner and avoiding over-tidying the garden and leaving some piles of foliage,’ he says.
TRIXIE
Nesting Aid for Hanging, Ceramic
Sheep Unique
Bird Nesting Material – 100% Pure Natural British Wool
Amazon
Bird Nesting Material Holder
If you want to help wild birds this nesting season, leaving out materials can be helpful. Just ensure you leave out natural material, not synthetic.
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