Natural Nests

• Have you ever seen a bird nest? Where did you see the nest? 
• Was anything in the nest? Did you see any birds near the nest?
• We used glue to hold our nests together. Birds do not have glue! What do you think they do to make the materials hold together to make their nests?
• On our nature walk outside, how did you decide what you wanted to collect to make your nest?
• What do birds do in their nests?

• Put any leftover materials in the art or science center so that children can create additional nests. Include some clay or play dough so that the children can make pretend eggs for the nests.
• Transform your dramatic play area into a Habitat Haven. Provide stuffed animals and materials to create habitats. Children could use boxes to create caves or burrows, blankets to make nests, and pillows to create piles of leaves. Artificial flowers and plants can represent food, and large pieces of tin foil or a blue colored tray could be a pond.

• Did the children demonstrate an understanding that nests are part of a bird’s habitat?
• Were the children able to talk about birds’ nests and how they were a place where birds lived?
• Were children able to understand that birds build their nests from a variety of things found in nature?

Most birds build nests in which they lay their eggs. Most nests are made from materials that birds collect in their environment such as string, sticks, grass and other materials from plants. Some birds make a nest in a shallow depression made in sand or in a knothole left by a broken branch. Not all birds build nests. Birds keep their eggs warm by brooding or sitting on the eggs. Birds sit on their eggs until they hatch. For some birds, such as gulls, both males and females share brooding. In many species of songbirds, the female broods the eggs and the male brings food to the brooding female. In a few species, only the male broods the eggs.

Perching birds have special adaptations for resting on branches. Songbirds make up a large part of this group of birds.  When a perching bird lands in a tree, its feet automatically close around a branch. If the bird falls asleep while it is perching, its feet will stay closed. The sleeping bird will not fall off the branch.

• bird – an animal with two wings, two feet, and feathers; most birds can fly.
• nest –a place that animals use to hold their eggs.
• habitat –the natural environment or home of an animal.
• egg – an object that is a covering or shell for a baby animal.
• hatch – when young animals develop inside their eggs, they break out when they are born.
• twigs – small branches of a tree or other plant.

• Have extra materials (twigs, grass, leaves, yarn) that you have collected in advance, available in case some children do not collect enough items to complete a nest.
• Instead of glue, you could use paste or modeling clay.

• A Nest Full of Eggs by Priscilla Belz Jenkins
• Birds by Kevin Henkes
• The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman