Nesting Material Sculptures at West Point Grey

The birds in Vancouver are making nests right now and we're going to help them out by providing nesting materials for them. Some willow wreaths (recycled from another project) are a great form for adding bits of feathers and wool that the birds can pull out and use for their nests.

We recycled some old wool sweaters that were full of holes and too losely knit to be felted.

 Grade 2 students made mini bird buntings to hang in their windows at home.

 Pictures from an Audubon  bird-a-day calender inspired us with incredible photographs, like this weaver-bird and its nest.

For more information on how to help the birds check out this article by Susan Tweit from the March-April Issue of Audubon Magazine: 10 Things You Can Do for the Birds. Many of her suggestions also apply to helping the bees!

Nest Material Workshop

 This is a great time of the year to put out nesting materials for the birds in your neighborhood. Inspired by the weaving skills birds use to make their nests, we headed to the grounds at Aberthau to pick out some art materials. We found feathers, flowers, twigs, dry grass and some fluffy seed pods.

 We decided these seed pods look like tiny hedgehogs.

I also added some wool yarn, raw sheep wool, old wool sweaters, weeping willow twigs and raffia for us to work with.

 The idea is to create a sculpture to present nesting materials for the birds. The loose bits are cut into small lengths: 3 to eight inches long and they are woven in for the birds to pluck out with their beaks. Any other loose material can be presented in a small basket. Tiny baskets can be used to present cattail or other seedy fluff for hummingbirds.

 We looked at photos of bower bird arches, and nests by weaver birds, hummingbirds and bush tits. I have been watching the bush tits in my neighbor's yard constructing a hanging nest. They use spider webs to hold their nests together, and make it strong and stretchy. Oddly, they are one of the few types of birds where other birds besides the mating couple help make the nest and sleep in it with them. Cosy!

 It's very relaxing to weave in a free-form. I like to weave at the end of a long day, winding down, slowning down and calming the mind.

 Et voila! A beautiful weaving with nesting material inside for the birds. Put this out in your back yard or hand it from your balcony and see what happens!

On the way to the bus stop going home, I heard a hummingbird and a woodpecker. I used the zoom function to take these photos.

I think this is a downy woodpecker--apparently you have to be a very good birder to tell the hairy apart from the downy, but it just says "downy" to me! Check here to hear the different between the two birds.

And on the other side of the road there were two more woodpeckers high up in the branches of the trees. What a treat. As I headed home after dinner and dusk was falling, just outside my door I raised my head and a bald eagle flew above me--another wonderful gift in a day that was for the birds.

Hummingbird Building Her Nest

This is adorable footage of an over-wintering Anna's humming bird building her nest in Victoria BC using spider webs, lichen, seed fluff, feathers, etc. It takes patience to watch, but their are some lovely details, such as when she carries small feathers from other birds in her beak which look enormous next to her body. This is thanks to BUG GIRL's blog.

Also, take this opportunity to see how you can help the Audubon Society study hummingbird migration!

"You can participate at any level – from reporting a single sighting to documenting hummingbird activity in your community throughout the life of the project. Help scientists document the hummingbirds journey and direct change in the future to ensure these incredible birds do not disappear."

Word of the Day: Zeitgeber

According to the Word of the Day which I receive by email a zeitgeber is "an environmental cue, as the length of daylight, that helps to regulate the cycles of an organism's biological clock." So where are all my zeitgebers for Spring? Sunshine? Temperatures in the double digits? Hello?

Yesterday I did see one red flowering currant bush on the way to pick up my son from school that was busy was bumble bee queens and honey bees. The sun wasn't shining, but they were hungry and it was just warm enough for them to forage.

The crows are definitely doing their twig balancing Ninja moves and I have seen them courting in pairs, averting my eyes from their intimate rituals. Time to put out nest-building materials for our avian neighbours.