These birds are real little fibre artists in my books, wish I could weave
like them.
In the shadowy parts of the garden I leave the moss as long as possible, and
most of it disappears by itself into nest boxes, nests in hedges, trees,
under the roof tiles etc. together with the earlier mentioned dog hairs.
Saves me a lot of gardening too, which I do like but my back does not.
Agnes Boddington - Elloughton UK
We are very lucky to have Eastern Bluebirds nesting in our Bluebird box
each year. I don't leave any fibers out for the birds at all, since April
has always warned us of the dangers on this list.
But my husband routinely opens the nesting box each winter in January or
February, and takes out the old nest, and then scalding the interior to
kill any mite larvae. I have been fascinated that the birds build their
nests primarily with pine needles, but add a smattering of tree lichen to
the nest... In chunks that are large enough to be identifiable. There
are a couple of varieties... One which is the familiar tree lichen, and
another that looks like a (distant?) relative of Spanish Moss! which does
not grow in our area. It is a feathery moss, and unlike The Spanish Moss I
know, is just little bits. The point being, are they chosen to absorb
moisture, or would their presence add moisture? Or are they instinctively
adding something that will repel bugs or other undesirable critters?
Clay
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