What is birds nest?

What can you do to help the baby birds when the parent birds built the nest too small and the baby birds keep falling out?

• Answer:

  Take a plastic flower pot that's a little larger than the nest, but not too deep (if it's too deep the baby birds won't be able to reach the edge of the nest to perch when they are ready to fly), and nail it to the side of the tree as close as possible to where the nest was built. A darker colored pot is best since it will more closely resemble the color of the nest and the tree. Be sure there is sufficient shade and protection from sun and rain to cover the nest. You also need to drill or poke some holes in the bottom of the pot first so it won't hold water when it rains. Then, without handling the baby birds at all if possible, place the nest inside the flower pot and tuck some cotton or strips of cotton fabric very tightly between the nest and the sides of the flower pot. This will help prevent the baby birds from becoming caught between the nest and the side of the flower pot. I recommend using a natural fabric such as cotton, preferably old tee shirt type fabric. After the flower pot/nest is secure, with the baby birds in the nest, leave the area immediately so the parents can return to their babies as soon as possible. As tempting as it may be to want to stay and watch them, it will cause a tremendous amount of stress for the parents, and could result in them abandoning the nest. So once it's in place, leave. The parents should then return to the nest and their babies, and will continue to care for them as they did before the 'remodeling' of their home. The more available the nest building materials are, the more likely they are to build a nest that's large enough. You can help birds in building nests for laying their eggs every spring by putting out short strips of yarn, natural fiber fabrics and small pieces of cotton. You can also use the long strips of cotton that comes in some medications, such as capsules or enteric coated aspirin. Otherwise, the medication residue on the cotton can cause it to be toxic to the birds. It doesn't matter what color they are; I've seen bright blue, yellow and red pieces that I've put out for them in their nests. Just make sure they are free of chemicals and toxins, which can be very harmful for the birds and their babies. You can also put out dryer lint, torn into workable pieces, as well as clumps of dog hair. Also, leave small twigs and leaves on your lawn for them to use, since these are the 'foundation' of the nest. The best time to begin putting these materials out is very early spring, or even late winter since some of them begin building their nests quite early and lay at least two clutches of eggs each spring/summer.