A couple of years ago, I did a blog post about the leaving out scraps of yarn for the birds and posted it on the Vernal Equinox. That post is far and away the most popular thing I’ve ever written on this blog. Pinterest and Facebook helped it go viral like nothing else I’ve ever posted. Two years on and the post still gets a couple of thousand hits per week.
Weirdly, it has also been the most controversial thing I’ve ever posted.
The thing about the internet is that there is a lot of information out there that may or may not be accurate. In fact, I struggled with even using the word “information” in that sentence. Someone posts that their neighbor/friend/cousin’s wife saw a baby bird tangle up in a piece of string and suddenly your’s truly is responsible for the extinction of all the song birds in the Western Hemisphere.
You would not believe some of the nasty, hateful screeds a handful of people have left as comments on this post. My favorite comments were the one’s that accused me of not caring about animals. (Clearly, they read nothing else on my site.) I deleted them, of course, but it was a PITA and sometimes kind of hurtful.
Before I did this project myself, I did some research. I found a reputable source that recommended putting yarn scraps out for the birds (no less august an institution than The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has posted about this very thing, see link below.) I also talked to my local Audubon Society to get their approval. But in spite of my efforts, this post still occasionally draws ire.
Why, then, am I am reposting it? First of all, because it’s a great, easy project that has brought lots of people a small amount of joy. But also because I think this little story I’ve just shared with you can serve as a cautionary tale. It’s really important to do some research and consult reputable sources before getting out the torches and pitchforks. Repeating something you heard from a friend or read on Facebook isn’t the same thing as research. Just a thought for the first day of Spring.
Below is the original post, with a few changes I have made over the years as I learned more about nesting material.
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Today is one of my very favorite days of the year. Today we celebrate surviving another cold and gloomy winter, and are rewarded with the first hints of buds on the trees, daffodils, blooming tulip trees and the general feeling of renewal that comes along with Spring.
At the farm we are eagerly anticipating the imminent hatching of the eggs Ethel has been sitting on seemingly forever and , of course, the lambs that could start arriving anytime now. There’s an energy in the air, a feeling that everything is potential and just waiting to burst into being. It’s pure magic.
I have a little project I like to do on the first day of Spring. It’s crazy easy, so easy that you could do it with even the smallest of children, inexpensive and environmentally friendly to boot.
You will need:
A cheap bird suet feeder. I got this one at Tractor Supply for $1.99.
A couple of handfuls of yarn scraps, cut into 3-6 inch lengths. (I only knit with natural fibers, so that’s what my yarn scraps are made of. It might not be a good idea to use acrylic yarn scraps, as they may not remain warm when wet.)
Put the scraps in your suet feeder and voila! You’ve just provided nesting materials for all the birds in your area.
I’ve been doing this for years and I never fail to feel a thrill when I see a bright strand of yarn carefully woven into a bird’s nest. You can also fill your suet feeder with raw fleece, if you have any handy. Ernie’s fleece scraps have always been particularly popular with the birds.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology gives yarn scraps a thumbs up.http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1144 (Scroll down to “Nest Material”).
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Awesome! I am definitely going to do it this year. Thanks for the reminder!!
Susan, it escapes me how ANYONE could find something negative or nasty to say about your yarn scraps for nesting birds! Really – it is mind boggling to think that there are such unhappy souls in this world.
Thank you for reposting! I’m off to Tractor Supply and then to raid my yarn (also organic and synthetic-free!)
OMW, what some people will do… I too, love this day, even if yesterday was more spring like then today!! I appreciate your efforts by providing the results of your research!! And you didn’t kill all the songbirds, we still have them in Jacksonville, Florida!! I am sure that some of the folks coming at you with torches and pitchforks think nothing of putting pesticides in thier yards killing all kinds of benefitial (and necessary) insects… Can we say Honey Bees??? Hope you have a wonderful, flame-free day!
I read the post for the first time just now. I am a new fan of Juniper Moon Farms yarns and am knitting with it right now. For the life of me, I do not understand such negative people. it is obvious the love you put into your product, I can feel it while I knit. As a female farmer myself, I can attest to the fact that birds will pick up scraps of anything and everything for a nest; they will use wire, candy wrappers, pollutates of all kinds.
What a wonderful contribution -much more beautiful than a candy wrapper.
Ugh. Stupid haters. This is one of my favorite Juniper Moon posts.
I am going to do this. I have natural fibers yarn scraps, I have fleece. I don’t have the suet holder; will get one soon, but in the meantime, I might try to use a mesh bag I have…. I am an urban dweller and feel a thrill when birds alight on the tree behind my house. There is a tree that has been amputated by the landlord. It still has “arm stumps” and I think the tree will stay as it is as it has enmeshed itself in the chainlink fence (you gotta love urban division of space….or not). I am planning to yarn bomb it this year (all in acrylic yarn, of course), and hanging a source of yarn and fleece for the birds will fit right in!
I love this project! My niece and I did it this year and can’t wait to (hopefully) see our colorful yarn scraps in bird nests as opposed to the trash our urban birds have used in the past.
I did this last year (inspired by your original post), and when the leaves fell off the trees and bushes, I was so very happy to find a nest that was made almost entirely of the yarn scraps that I put out. It was the best thing ever! It has made me smile all winter. Can’t wait to put out more scraps this year!
I have read your post from year to year! I have done this project each and every time your post reminds me to…I love love love how it perks up the barely green yard on the first day of spring.
And I particularly love Kelly S’s post about her brightly colored winter reminder
Birds also like dryer lint to use in nest building. If you don’t have a holder, ‘decorate’ the bushes in your yard.
I’ve been saving all my tail-ends and scrap bits of yarn all winter. It feels so good to know they are not wasted or thrown away but might become a warm and cosy bit of nest for a bird. Thanks for your post.
Yarn scraps, dryer lint, dog hair, I’ve found it all when cleaning out nesting boxes. I now have a pair of bluebirds checking out the digs in my yard. Follow up to our conversation about birding being an expensive hobby… it may have something to do with the $15 I spend every Saturday for live meal worms, not to mention the thistle seed, and black oil sunflower seeds. I love that my yard is full of all sorts of birds now!
It seems that, if you don’t have a suet feeder, one or two of those green plastic baskets they sell pints of strawberries or cherry tomatoes in might work. You could put the two tops together and lash them together with string or whatever’s handy (hint: yarn might fill the bill!).
We could start a picture gallery of JMF yarn in nests.
Ever since I read this the first time, I’ve been saving my trimmed ends (which are short, usually shorter than 2 inches because something 2 inches long could become a stitch marker somewhere) and also my dryer lint. We have a suet holder with a cage around it to protect the suet from big birds and squirrels and such. It got stolen by a crow or squirrel before we figured out about latching it on, so we bought a new one just like it. Then we found the old one near the back fence. I use the old one for the lint and yarn bits, year round. Every month or so, I put out what I’ve accumulated. Some birds nest later in the season, including even August, I think. We put one of the old (smaller) clear plastic squirrel baffles over the top so there’s slight protection from the rain. We find scraps of all this all over the yard, so they must be grabbing it out of there and, I assume, using it.
What a great idea! I actually have three suet holders sitting idle in my shed that I can use–I bought them years ago, when someone told me that Irish Spring soap in a suet holder will keep deer away from your garden. (It didn’t deter any of our deer–only a big sturdy fence did that!) The soap is now long gone and the suet holders have been taking up space in the shed, so I’ll fill them with wool scraps and lint for the birds!
Perfect timing on the tip! I store my yarn scarps in my great-grandmother’s candy dish currently, but it’s overflowing and needs to be cleaned out! Happy Spring!
Oh deargodalmighty if only the do_good_by_trashing_other’s_good_works folks would go_do_good_somewhere_else.
That’s it, Susie – hand’s up! I’m taking you in, you bird killer, you! SHEESH!
I can’t wait to put mine out tomorrow. I think it’s a great idea. The person who wrote the nasty comment must have been in a very bad mood when she wrote it. How can you not think it’s a great idea.
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