Birds Nest Challenge

By Mel Evans

At this time of year the birds are so busy building nests to raise their young in. We love to challenge the children (and their parents) to have a go at making a cosy nest out of materials around us in the woods. They are always surprised at just how tricky it is! Now try making a nest with no hands and just a little beak. It really makes you appreciate how clever nature is!

Before we start we share some examples of real nests and let everyone have a good look. You can look at some nests from different types of birds here.

If you would like to have a go at making a nest yourself you will need to gather some natural materials from the garden or while on a walk. I can’t tell you how to make the nest as the joy of this activity, is in finding out for yourself. You will need to become a nature engineer and experiment with the materials you have collected. I CAN give you some top tips however.

Bendy sticks such as willow, thin hazel or even lengths of honeysuckle or ivy are great to get you started.

You can use moss to line the bottom of the nest and fill in any gaps.

How about adding some sheeps fluff to make it nice and cosy? You sometimes find this caught on fences.

Once you have finished your nest you could use it as a table centre piece. In the past we have painted blown eggs yellow and turned them into chicks to add to the nest. You can find out how to blow eggs here.

Maybe you could find a good place for your nest in the garden. While it is unlikely that any real birds will move into your nest you might spot them stealing some of the materials for their own nests! With that in mind you should only use materials that are safe for the birds. Yarn or anything that might entangle the birds should be avoided and you should only use pet hair if the animal has not been treated with grooming/worming/flea products.

If your very lucky a Rainbow Bird might visit your nest over Easter and lay some colourful chocolate eggs!