The cup nest is probably the most common bird nest, and likely the one you are most familiar with. It is shaped like a cup or bowl and can be built on the branches of a tree. Most cup nests have rough, scratchy material for the outside of the nest to give it protection and camouflage, but soft materials on the inside are where the eggs and young will be. So next time you see a bird flying overhead with a twig in its mouth, you’ll know that they are probably flying to build its nearby nest!
Let’s see if your crafting skills can compete with bird builders with the following fun spring-time craft!
Bird Nest Materials
- Cardboard
- Felt (shades of brown or tan)
- 4 pom-poms
- Feathers
- Yarn or string
- Googly eyes
- Hole punch
- Hot glue
- Scissors
Bird Nest Instructions
1. Begin by cutting a circle out of cardboard. This will be the base of the nest, so cut it as big or as small as you’d like. Save the scraps of cardboard! We will be using them in step 3.
2. Using your hole-punch to add 3 holes to the cardboard circle.
3. Cut strips of felt and cardboard. The size will depend on the size of your cardboard; mine are about 1/4 inch by 2 inches.
4. Use hot glue to attach the strips of felt and cardboard to the cardboard circle. Glue one layer along the rim of the circle. Add more layers until you reach your desired height. This will be the walls of the nest. Make sure you don’t cover up the 3 holes in the cardboard!
5. Glue feathers to the inside of the nest.
6. Cut 3 pieces of yarn or string and tie one to each hole in the cardboard. Take the other ends of the 3 pieces of yarn and tie them together above the nest to allow it to be hung up.
7. Create the birds! Glue two pompoms together, one slightly larger than the other. Glue two feathers to the larger (body) pompom as wings. Glue two googly eyes to the smaller (head) pompom. Glue the birds to their nest!
Display your bird nest inside and compare it to any wild bird nests you find outside! Remember to never disturb nests that you may encounter to avoid interfering with the hard-working birds.
