IanF
Moderator
After seeing Gaye's photo in the Gallery of the Goldfinch taking cotton wool, it may be a good moment to remind members who are fortunate to have birds nesting in the garden of a way in which they can help.
In 2001 we had Blue Tits nesting in a nest box. When I cleaned out the nest box I found it mainly comprised animal hair and moss. There was a low success rate that year.
In 2002 we decided to give them a helping hand, providing nesting material in the form of a string sack of cotton wool "nest builder" which I hung from the feeding station. All sorts of birds made ready use of it, including the Blue Tits and Goldfinches.
It only took the Blue Tits a few days to build their nest this year, with only having a few feet to fly to the cotton wool. They had a very successful breeding year with 9 surviving (we have a camera in the box) and when I cleaned it out afterwards it was twice as thick as the previous year and very snug indeed.
We bought the cotton sacks online - only £1.95 - £4.95 ( if you want to know where send me a 'pm' rather than advetise) else follow Gaye's suggestion and save up the cotton wool from pill bottles and other sources !
Goldfinch on cotton sack
Blue Tit on cotton sack
Blue Tit with mouthful
Goldfinch pausing for a bite to eat on way to nest
In 2001 we had Blue Tits nesting in a nest box. When I cleaned out the nest box I found it mainly comprised animal hair and moss. There was a low success rate that year.
In 2002 we decided to give them a helping hand, providing nesting material in the form of a string sack of cotton wool "nest builder" which I hung from the feeding station. All sorts of birds made ready use of it, including the Blue Tits and Goldfinches.
It only took the Blue Tits a few days to build their nest this year, with only having a few feet to fly to the cotton wool. They had a very successful breeding year with 9 surviving (we have a camera in the box) and when I cleaned it out afterwards it was twice as thick as the previous year and very snug indeed.
We bought the cotton sacks online - only £1.95 - £4.95 ( if you want to know where send me a 'pm' rather than advetise) else follow Gaye's suggestion and save up the cotton wool from pill bottles and other sources !
Goldfinch on cotton sack
Blue Tit on cotton sack
Blue Tit with mouthful
Goldfinch pausing for a bite to eat on way to nest
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