Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Homemade Bird Nester Learning Activity


Each season has it's own learning opportunities and we're taking advantage of those unique to spring. Recently, we learned a bit about birds and how they make their nests. We created these bird nesters as a fun follow up activity to reinforce the things we learned while making our backyard birds happy.

spring time bird nester activity

What is a bird nester? A bird nester is a collection of nesting materials that you can set out just like you would a bird feeder. We actually used a suet bird feeder as our box and filled it with bits of yarn. We found our suet cage at Walmart for less than three dollars, and we plan to use it as a feeder later in the year.

Nesting Materials-

  • Yarn
  • Twine
  • Scraps of fabric
  • Dried grasses
  • Small twigs
  • Dead leaves
  • Pine needles
  • Hair
  • Pet fur
Dryer lint is not recommended because it's dense and doesn't dry quickly, keeping the nest cold and wet. You should also stay away from plastics and things like fishing line. When offering yarn, twine, etc. the recommended length is around 3-8 inches. 

spring time bird nester activity

I wanted this activity to really focus on the things we've been learning, so I used this time to discuss camouflage. I brought out my collection of yarn scraps in various colors and I let R decide which colors he thought would be best to help the birds hide their nests. We decided on earth tones and used various colors of brown, green, and tan.

This activity also helped me sneak in some math and scissor practice. R happily measured and snipped until we had more than enough to fill our nester. In fact, we even created one as a gift for his nana. This would be a great gift for anyone that loves bird watching.

The learning and fun doesn't stop there! We hung ours in a low traffic area that was still visible. It's really interesting to watch the birds come and go. Record the types of birds that visit by drawing them in a nature journal and use a field guide for your area to identify them.

Want to learn a little more about birds and their nesting habits? We loved this video

What are your favorite springtime learning activities?

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