How to Make a Nesting Ball for Birds with Wild Grapevine and Natural Fiber

In the spring, wild birds are on the lookout for nest building materials. You can provide a one-stop shop for your backyard friends by providing them with a nesting ball. Here are directions for weaving a grapevine ball and filling it with natural fibers.

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It’s springtime in southwestern Michigan! Step outside and you can hear the song of robins, bluebirds, and red-winged black birds.

If you take a moment to watch them, they are very busy this time of year gathering materials to build their nests. You can help them out by providing them with a nesting ball.

What is a Nesting Ball?

A nesting ball is a man-made one-stop shop for birds to gather nesting materials. It takes birds days to weeks to build a nest and insulate it for their young. You can give the birds in your backyard a head start in preparing their home by making nesting materials readily available.

Nesting balls can be constructed from different materials. I make them out of wild grapevine, weaved into a ball. They can be filled with fiber, pine needles, feathers, and other natural items. They can be hung in a tree or on a porch for the birds to find and access at their leisure.

Providing a nesting ball is a good way to attract birds to your yard. It’s fun to watch them come make a selection and see the materials you provided slowly disappear. When the ball is empty, it can be restocked!

What to Put in a Nesting Ball

It’s best to provide wild birds with natural materials that are not chemically treated. I raise Angora goats and fill my nesting balls with raw mohair fleece. The mohair is soft and warm and the birds love it! You could also use wool or alpaca to fill a nesting ball. In addition, I include scraps of mohair yarn in my nesting balls, these are dyed natural fibers. Using my yarn scraps in nesting balls is a way to eliminate waste in my crafting.

You will want to avoid synthetic materials or long pieces of string in your nesting ball. For example, dryer lint may have chemical residues that are harmful to wildlife. Make sure any strands of fiber or yarn are less than 6 inches long, because they can entangle the birds.

Materials Needed to Make a Nesting Ball for Birds with Wild Grapevine and Natural Fiber

• Wild grapevine
• Pruning shears
• Florist wire
• Natural fiber or other materials
• String

Wild grapevine can be found growing up and between a variety of trees in forests throughout the Eastern/ Midwestern United States. During the growing season, they have large, broad, toothed, green leaves and blackish purple fruit that grow in clusters. The grapevine I used in the pictures was cut in early April, before any growth had taken place.

When it comes to foraging, it is always better to be safe than sorry. It’s important to be sure of what you are taking from the wild. I recommend using a plant identification book or smartphone app to help you identify wild grapevine if this is your first time.

If you don’t want to bother with gathering and weaving grapevine yourself, you can purchase pre-made grapevine balls online and just fill them with nesting materials. However, if you find that you enjoy weaving grapevine, check out my other article here about making and decorating wild grapevine wreaths!

Pruning shears are helpful in harvesting the wild grapevine and can be used to cut your florist wire. I use florist wire to help hold the shape of my woven nesting ball, if you are an expert weaver, you can do without it.

Natural fiber or other collected natural materials can be used to fill your nesting ball, see the paragraph above for more information on what should and should not be used as nesting materials.

Any kind of string can be used to hang your completed nesting ball from a branch or eave for the birds to find.

Directions for Making a Nesting Ball for Birds with Wild Grapevine and Natural Fiber

1. Harvest wild grapevine with pruning shears. I used about 10 feet of vines to make the ball shown in the picture that has a circumference of about 15 inches. Depending on how large you want to make your nesting balls, you will need more or less grapevine.
2. Bend the grapevine into a circular shape. Secure the circle with a piece of florist wire.

3. Weave the ends of the grapevine around the initial circle that you made.
4. Weave another piece of grapevine around the first circle and secure it with another piece of florist wire
5. Continue adding grapevine until you are happy with the shape and density of the vines. You will want to make sure there is plenty of space for you to add your nesting materials.
6. When you think you are done, tuck in or cut off any pieces of vine that are protruding from the ball shape.
7. Now you are ready to fill your nesting ball! Begin adding fiber and natural materials to the spaces in the woven ball until you can’t fit any more. It should be loosely packed so that the birds can remove things with ease.
8. Cut a piece of twine or string, about a foot long, to be a hanger for the ball. Weave it under one of the grapevines and tie it to a tree branch or wherever you want your nesting ball to hang.
9. Watch the birds visit the nesting ball.
10. Restock the empty nesting ball with more natural materials as needed.

Sam

Mother, farmer, author, and teacher by trade… She loves tending to things and watching them grow!