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Show VALLEY NEWS Birds with Nest Material “(801) 940-0217 745-3786 yb n Among the strange materials birds occasionally use in their nests are snake skins, plastic strips, cellophane, and aluminum foil. Many small birds use spider webs to glue nest material together. Swallows, phoebes, and American Robins use mud to construct their nests. You might consider = ZA seeping a muddy puddle ini your garden for th What about dryer lint? ie people include this as suitable bird nesting material. recommend against it because it is porous and dries out poorly if it’s rained on in the nest. Still others warn that wet dryer lint dries into a hard Dead twigs Dead leaves Dry grass Yarn or string—cut - detergent or fabric softener residue. More information is needed before we can recommend offering dryer lint. w to Offer Nest Material Place nesting materials, such as twigs and leaves, in piles on the ground—other materials, too, if they won’t blow away. Try putting fluffy materials, hair, or fur in wire-mesh suet cages, or in string or plastic mesh bags, attached to tree trunks, fence posts, or deck railings. The birds will pull out the material through the mesh holes. Push material into tree crevices or drape it over vegetation. Put material into an open-topped, plastic berry haa (such as strawberries are sold ir a: snk manufacturers sell spiral wire hangers especially for putting out nest material. (One type looks like an oversized honey-dipper.) N . into 4- to 8-inch pieces MECHANICAL Cell: Fax: 1. ¢ 745-9544 Kevin Johnson - Meeting Your Ogden Valley A Rentmeister Real Estate Needs Kapok, cotton batting, or other stuffing materia Moss Bark strips Pine needles Thin strips of cloth, about 1 inch wide by 6 inches long Shredded paper 11. 12. 13. 14. Human or animal hair (especially horse hair Fur (e.g. dog or cat fur) Sheep’s wool Feathers Plant fluff or down (e.g. cattail fluff, cottonwood down) Note: http: I oer mation came el wwy boutBin a from ], TAT] one Bin its) Try our plumbing service You'll like the results and save money. Start Saving Now We do it all. Guaranteed Quality, Guaranteed $2 2-7562 90-CL-10 VESZrY you ‘Attracting 10. uo Most people know that putting out a nest box will attract nesting birds in summer. But did you know that small birds often use these same boxes for shelter at night, particularly in winter? Sometimes more than a dozen birds will pile into a single box to conserve heat. But nest boxes are far from ideal for overnight roosting. They are usually too small for a group. Plus most birds need to perch or cling while roosting, but nest boxes Most birds build some kind of structure to contain their eggs and, in many cases, their growing youngsters. A bird’s nest may be as simple as a depression on the ground such as made by a nighthawk, it may be a hole in a tree excavated by a woodpecker, or it may be as elaborate as the pouch-like nest woven by an oriole. The most familiar type of nest, though, is a cup-shaped structure made of vegetation. Often, the outer layers are of coarse material, and there is a lining of softr or finer material. Depending on the species, cup-nesters may hide their nests in trees or shrubs, build them on the ground, or, like the familiar Eastern Bluebird, place them in nestboxes or tree holes. If your yard has safe nest sites and adequate construction material, it will be more attractive to birds—even those that normally don’t visit feeders. Nest Materials Ideally you should provide nest material naturally by leaving or creating wild, natural areas on your property (perhaps hidden from your neighbor’s view) where plants can grow into thickets, and leaves and twigs can fall and not be raked up immediately. This untidy debris gives a variety of material for the birds to pick through when they are building nests. They may even pick through your ae pile looking for suitable nest mateial. Alternatively, you can put out concentrated stashes of nest material. It can be natural materials like straw, small sticks, and twigs, or manmade materials such as yarn and string. a putting out any combination of the follow $0190! SIN e secret to attracting lots of birds is to keep your birdbath full at all times. But remember to change the water every couple of days to keep it fresh and avoid the growth of algae. Most important, clean the birdbath regularly to get rid of spoiled food particles and droppings that may spread bird diseases. Attracting Birds with Roost Boxes Roosting boxes differ from nest boxes in several important ways. A good roost box is designed to prevent the birds’ body heat from escaping, so, unlike a nest box, it lacks ventilation holes. Also, its entrance hole is near the bottom of the box so the rising warmth doesn’t escape. Inside a roost box there are several perches made from small wooden dowels, staggered at different levels. In addition, the inside front and rear walls are roughened, scored, or covered with hardware cloth so that woodpeckers can cling to them. A hinged top allows easy access so you can clean the box. An entrance hole about 2 inches in diameter will admit most small birds, but to exclude aggressive starlings reduce the opening to about | 1/2 inches. Larger woodland birds, such as flickers and screech-owls, need a 3-inch entrance hole. Mount your roost box on a metal pole or a wooden post, and attach a metal baffle below the box to keep predators out. Place the box in a sheltered spot, out of prevailing winds. South-facing boxes receive the most warmth from the winter sun. Roost boxes can be purchased from various manufacturers. Look for them anywhere nest boxes and bird feeders are sold. Or, for a fun : woodworking project, you can make Issue XI 15, 2006 Inc. immersion heater, available at most places bird feeders are sold. The latest models will turn off if the water in the bath dries up. Ideally, put your heater on a ground-fault interrupted circuit (available from any hardware or electrical supply store) to eliminate the chance of electric shock. A homemade solution is to put a light bulb in a flower pot under the water basin. The light bulb will provide more than enough heat to keep the water from freezing. Never add antifreeze to the birdbath—it is poisonous to all animals, including birds. Some people use glycerin as a makeshift antifreeze in birdbaths, but we do not recommend it. Glycerin is a low-level toxin—if birds drink too much, it raises their blood sugar so much that they may die. Furthermore, when birds bathe in glycerinspiked water, their feathers can become matted. Matted plumage is poor insulation, leaving birds susceptible to cold temperatures. Maintaining your birdbath have no perching surfaces inside. You can help your backyard birds keep warm overnight with a specially designed roost box. Any backyard favorites that typically nest in boxes—bluebirds, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and small woodpeckers—may seek refuge in it. What makes roost boxes different from nest boxes? 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