When spring comes after a long winter, you might be excited to see more wildlife in your yard or garden. Lots of birds start showing up as early as February, flitting around looking for food and nesting materials. Our feathered friends usually start building their nests in spring and early summer, since that’s when there’s plenty of food available. Want to lend them a hand? Surprisingly, you can make nesting materials super accessible for the birds near you using a simple kitchen tool you probably already have – a whisk! Whisks are great for cooking and baking, but if you’ve got some you don’t use much, there are lots of ways to repurpose them. The evenly spaced wires make a whisk perfect for holding nesting materials that birds can come grab. To make your own DIY bird nesting station, you’ll need a whisk, some string or twine to hang it with, and optional decorative touches like non-toxic paint if you want to dress up the handle. Most importantly, make sure to fill the whisk with nesting materials that are safe and useful for birds. Let’s take a look at what to put in your whisk and how to set it up to help the birds out this spring.
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How to create a bird nesting station out of a whisk
To make your own nesting station, start by gathering the materials you want to offer the birds. In general, any natural stuff they’d normally find and use, like twigs, sticks, moss, pine needles, or leaves, makes a good choice. You can even use pet-safe grass clippings, as long as the grass hasn’t been treated with anything harmful. While pet hair is often recommended, you might want to skip that since it could have flea meds or shampoo that could hurt the birds. Focus on natural, short materials that birds can easily grab and carry off without getting tangled up.
Once you’ve collected your nesting supplies, putting together the whisk holder is pretty simple. You can decorate the handle with non-toxic paint or wrap it in twine for a rustic look. Then just loosely pack the whisk head with your materials, so the birds can easily pull pieces out. Finally, hang it up! Use string or twine to hang the whisk where birds will see it, but close enough to shrubs or bushes so they can quickly retreat if any predators come around.
