Provide nest-building material to attract birds

Our cardinals, robins, bluebirds, mockingbirds, titmice and other year-round avian residents kicked off the spring nesting season in early March. Now, the season is shifting into high gear as our neo-tropical migrants — warblers, thrushes, buntings, tanagers, ruby-throated hummingbirds and others — return from winter homes in the southern tropics to raise a new generation of babies.

The birds, of course, are quite adept at building their nests. Nevertheless, you can help — even encourage birds to nest in your yard — by offering certain nest construction materials, such as:

• Spider webs, which many birds use to make nests. Female ruby-throated hummingbirds in particular use spider silk to attach nests to limbs and hold the nests together. Therefore, encouraging spiders to live in your yard might make the yard more appealing to the tiny birds. The hummers also will eat small insects snared in the webs.
• Animal hair (including human hair). Many birds use hair — especially strands 4-6 inches long — as linings for their nests. The chipping sparrow, a common nester in North Georgia, is called the "hair sparrow" because it uses lots of hair in its nest.
• Grass clippings, one of the most common nesting materials. Leaving grass clippings on your lawn after mowing will make birds happy.
• Cloth strips, strings, twine and yarn made of cotton, wool, jute, burlap and other natural fibers. Cut the material into pieces 3-6 inches long; cloth strips should be no more than an inch wide.

Other useful materials include pine needles, dead leaves, fluff or down of plants, twigs, feathers from old down pillows, cotton balls, mop string, dental floss and shredded paper. Nesting Carolina wrens make use of all these items.

To offer the materials, drape them over shrubs or on porch railings or near birdfeeders or near sheltered spots where birds may build nests.

Caution: Do not offer potentially harmful materials such as dryer lint, fabric softeners, plastics, nylon twine or fishing line. Don’t offer material that has come into contact with potentially harmful chemicals, such as household cleaners.

IN THE SKY: The Lyrid meteor shower will reach a peak of about 15 meteors per hour this weekend. Some meteors, though, will still be visible most of next week, said David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer. Look to the northeast from about 2 a.m. until dawn.