Well I hope you are rewarded for your effort and thoughtful actions. I know I cleared saplings and stacked them at the edge of the woods that dropped down into the cedar and was pleasantly surprised to find that grouse had used it to nest under the following spring.
Thanks and it’s always fun to experiment with such things. I have a stack of old wood up on blocks and rabbits have lived under it for years. Nice to hear about your grouse!
Great video. Your local wildlife is going to love that brush pile. I own 15 acres and part of it consists of large white pines and balsam fir trees. Many of the white pines have shaded out the firs and that shade has killed them. So for the last few days, I've been cutting the standing dead firs down and have been creating some fairly decently sized brush piles. I leave the dead white pines standing because the birds love them. The firs are most like bean poles, so I take them down. Plus, many trees have fallen throughout the years, making a huge mess on the ground. I'm just getting around to cleaning it all up now. Anyway, it's nice to know the piles will be benefitting the wildlife around me. That helps with the motivation. Thanks again.
Thanks Jay! It amazing how many types of wildlife find shelter and food within such piles. Mice, rabbits, snakes, amphibians, insects of many types and various birds. And it can help to build piles in different ways to vary the open spaces within the piles. A tightly packed pile of grass won’t offer much but when branches are piled the air spaces and openings under the pile are created allowing for creature entrance.
@@hervedelnorte7928 Thank you for the advice Herve. What you said makes a lot of sense. I am thinking I've got enough spaces (air pockets) for the wildlife because many of my piles are created from those fallen trees I mentioned above. I just keep piling it on. Just today I made three large piles and then another by using a large spruce that fell during a winter storm as a base. That one is full of air pockets and smaller branches as well. As I walk around the land in the morning, I see the smaller birds hiding out in the dead branches. It's so much fun to watch. I'm looking forward to having moss grow all over the piles. We've got a lot of moss here in Maine. Thanks for the reply.
Another approach is to cover coarse branches with finer grasses and things. This can then provide an almost waterproof roof on top. It’s fun to experiment with different materials. An old wood pile (planks) that I have raised on blocks is a favourite home for rabbits here. I’ve also set trunks and branches across small depressions or valleys and then creatures can shelter in the depressions underneath. I also have piles that the various sparrows, towhees, thrashers and wrens love to pick around in.
@@hervedelnorte7928 Thank you for all the great advice. It really helped. As I continue to make my piles, I'll keep in mind the way I'm placing the material and what I put on the bottom as well as the top. Thanks again!
If you want this to work for chipmunks you could try logs would a smaller diameter for the first layer. Smaller cats could fit their buddies underneath.
Thank you for doing this ♥️ I have around 200 sparrow at my back yard. Do you think a brush pile like yours would help them to go through winter? If not then what else can I do to keep them warm ? Thank you in advance for any advice.
Hi Anita! Thanks for your thanks 😁. The brush pile type that I made in this video is more useful for creatures like mammals or reptiles to crawl under. More useful to sparrows and other roosting birds would be dense shrubs and trees. If you have space and decent soil depth you could plant conifers like cedars (white and red cedar), spruces, yews, firs etc. Plant them in a grouping and they will eventually make a nice dense winter cover for birds. I have some deciduous shrubs that have very dense leaves that the birds love to roost in through summer and early fall. And they also seek cover in these to avoid predators even in winter when they no longer have leaves. These are Forsythia and Snowball Viburnum bushes (These are normally readily available at most garden centres). They have a very dense tangle of twigs and branches that the birds love to get into. Certain species also like to nest in these in summer.
@@hervedelnorte7928 Thank you so much. I definitely will take your advice, and hope to get it done soon. Sir, I have one more question for you. I have rescued a baby sparrow few months ago. She still lives with me. She never wanted to leave. The plan was to help her to grow and release her, but she kept coming back home. I decided to keep her. She has the entire room for herself with plenty of natural light, few white cedar trees, seeds, fruits and water. The window in her room is always open; so, she sees and hears other birds all the time. She likes spending most of her time outside with other sparrows. Usually, she’s out for 6-9 hours a day and then she comes back home in the late afternoon. Right now, however, when the weather changes and it gets really cold outside, I’m afraid to let her go even for few hours. I don’t want her to get sick or so. What do you think I should do? Is it still OK to let her go outside during the day or is better to keep her home until spring comes? Please help. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you!
@@Anita_She That sounds like a strange situation you have there. I assume if the window in the sparrows room is always open then you must live in a fairly warm climate, is that correct? Do you know what kind of sparrow it is? It sounds as though it enjoys going out for most of the day, most days. I assume it would be able to survive if it stayed outside but like you say if it is used to coming in at night then you may want to still give it that option if you can with the window open. I don’t know really what to say it’s a bit of a tricky one seeing as it seems to have somewhat become attached to you so to speak
@@hervedelnorte7928 First of all, thank you for your prompt reply. It means a lot to me. My bird is a female house sparrow. She is 6 moths old. I live in Connecticut. The average temperature in here right now is around 40F during the day and 26F at night. The window in her room is slightly open, but there is a screen in it; so, she can not go in and out on her own. She goes outside through the kitchen door, which I open for her. I know her schedule and upon her arrival I go outside, call her and she comes back. Few weeks ago, for the firs time ever, she was gone for 4 days. Later, I found out why. There was a hawk in the area and it must’ve scared her (and other birds) off. But eventually she got back. In one piece 😊. Since that time, she stays home all the time. I had to take care of the hawk situation first. My other birds were gone as well. To help them out I had to get different feeders and rearrange the settings. I moved the outdoor feeders in a safe place, deeper into the woods and the birds are back. Now, my little girl chatters with other birds through the window only. It seems like she is calling them and look for their attention. Looks to me like she is lonely 😔 It seems like she is ready to join her friends again, but I’m hesitant to let her go this time. It’s getting colder and colder outside. I really don’t know what to do. What would you do? Thank you!
@@Anita_She I know you really care about this bird so I’m reluctant to give advice (either way) that may not end well. I can’t be certain how adapted to the wild it is vs. how dependant it may be on you still for survival. Or how easy or difficult it is for you to look after it if you keep it. Do you think you could just let it out and keep letting it in at night? If you do keep it in all winter it may be even harder for it to adjust to the wild next spring. Does it eat well in captivity? I’m not sure there’s a right or wrong decision so you might have to go with your gut. It’s a wild bird but it has had a bit of a different upbringing. House Sparrows are quite tough little birds in general. I personally might be tempted to let it out to be with its own kind if I thought it was adapted enough. Sounds like it should have lots of other house sparrows for company. Hope this helps🙂
Please don’t create a structure like this in the city. Someone built this on my neighbors lot and we had a problem in my neighborhood with rats and field mice - until it was removed.
You get better at each one u built. This one looks good.
Well I hope you are rewarded for your effort and thoughtful actions. I know I cleared saplings and stacked them at the edge of the woods that dropped down into the cedar and was pleasantly surprised to find that grouse had used it to nest under the following spring.
Thanks and it’s always fun to experiment with such things. I have a stack of old wood up on blocks and rabbits have lived under it for years. Nice to hear about your grouse!
Great video. Your local wildlife is going to love that brush pile. I own 15 acres and part of it consists of large white pines and balsam fir trees. Many of the white pines have shaded out the firs and that shade has killed them. So for the last few days, I've been cutting the standing dead firs down and have been creating some fairly decently sized brush piles. I leave the dead white pines standing because the birds love them. The firs are most like bean poles, so I take them down. Plus, many trees have fallen throughout the years, making a huge mess on the ground. I'm just getting around to cleaning it all up now. Anyway, it's nice to know the piles will be benefitting the wildlife around me. That helps with the motivation. Thanks again.
Thanks Jay! It amazing how many types of wildlife find shelter and food within such piles. Mice, rabbits, snakes, amphibians, insects of many types and various birds. And it can help to build piles in different ways to vary the open spaces within the piles. A tightly packed pile of grass won’t offer much but when branches are piled the air spaces and openings under the pile are created allowing for creature entrance.
@@hervedelnorte7928 Thank you for the advice Herve. What you said makes a lot of sense. I am thinking I've got enough spaces (air pockets) for the wildlife because many of my piles are created from those fallen trees I mentioned above. I just keep piling it on. Just today I made three large piles and then another by using a large spruce that fell during a winter storm as a base. That one is full of air pockets and smaller branches as well. As I walk around the land in the morning, I see the smaller birds hiding out in the dead branches. It's so much fun to watch. I'm looking forward to having moss grow all over the piles. We've got a lot of moss here in Maine. Thanks for the reply.
Another approach is to cover coarse branches with finer grasses and things. This can then provide an almost waterproof roof on top. It’s fun to experiment with different materials. An old wood pile (planks) that I have raised on blocks is a favourite home for rabbits here. I’ve also set trunks and branches across small depressions or valleys and then creatures can shelter in the depressions underneath. I also have piles that the various sparrows, towhees, thrashers and wrens love to pick around in.
@@hervedelnorte7928 Thank you for all the great advice. It really helped. As I continue to make my piles, I'll keep in mind the way I'm placing the material and what I put on the bottom as well as the top. Thanks again!
How long does it take for the base logs to rot down which would condense and eliminate any space for rabbits?
Wonderful, thank you very much for the upload.
If you want this to work for chipmunks you could try logs would a smaller diameter for the first layer. Smaller cats could fit their buddies underneath.
Thank you for doing this ♥️ I have around 200 sparrow at my back yard. Do you think a brush pile like yours would help them to go through winter? If not then what else can I do to keep them warm ? Thank you in advance for any advice.
Hi Anita! Thanks for your thanks 😁. The brush pile type that I made in this video is more useful for creatures like mammals or reptiles to crawl under. More useful to sparrows and other roosting birds would be dense shrubs and trees. If you have space and decent soil depth you could plant conifers like cedars (white and red cedar), spruces, yews, firs etc. Plant them in a grouping and they will eventually make a nice dense winter cover for birds. I have some deciduous shrubs that have very dense leaves that the birds love to roost in through summer and early fall. And they also seek cover in these to avoid predators even in winter when they no longer have leaves. These are Forsythia and Snowball Viburnum bushes (These are normally readily available at most garden centres). They have a very dense tangle of twigs and branches that the birds love to get into. Certain species also like to nest in these in summer.
@@hervedelnorte7928 Thank you so much. I definitely will take your advice, and hope to get it done soon. Sir, I have one more question for you. I have rescued a baby sparrow few months ago. She still lives with me. She never wanted to leave. The plan was to help her to grow and release her, but she kept coming back home. I decided to keep her. She has the entire room for herself with plenty of natural light, few white cedar trees, seeds, fruits and water. The window in her room is always open; so, she sees and hears other birds all the time. She likes spending most of her time outside with other sparrows. Usually, she’s out for 6-9 hours a day and then she comes back home in the late afternoon. Right now, however, when the weather changes and it gets really cold outside, I’m afraid to let her go even for few hours. I don’t want her to get sick or so. What do you think I should do? Is it still OK to let her go outside during the day or is better to keep her home until spring comes? Please help. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you!
@@Anita_She That sounds like a strange situation you have there. I assume if the window in the sparrows room is always open then you must live in a fairly warm climate, is that correct?
Do you know what kind of sparrow it is? It sounds as though it enjoys going out for most of the day, most days. I assume it would be able to survive if it stayed outside but like you say if it is used to coming in at night then you may want to still give it that option if you can with the window open. I don’t know really what to say it’s a bit of a tricky one seeing as it seems to have somewhat become attached to you so to speak
@@hervedelnorte7928 First of all, thank you for your prompt reply. It means a lot to me.
My bird is a female house sparrow. She is 6 moths old. I live in Connecticut. The average temperature in here right now is around 40F during the day and 26F at night. The window in her room is slightly open, but there is a screen in it; so, she can not go in and out on her own. She goes outside through the kitchen door, which I open for her. I know her schedule and upon her arrival I go outside, call her and she comes back. Few weeks ago, for the firs time ever, she was gone for 4 days. Later, I found out why. There was a hawk in the area and it must’ve scared her (and other birds) off. But eventually she got back. In one piece 😊. Since that time, she stays home all the time. I had to take care of the hawk situation first. My other birds were gone as well. To help them out I had to get different feeders and rearrange the settings. I moved the outdoor feeders in a safe place, deeper into the woods and the birds are back. Now, my little girl chatters with other birds through the window only. It seems like she is calling them and look for their attention. Looks to me like she is lonely 😔 It seems like she is ready to join her friends again, but I’m hesitant to let her go this time. It’s getting colder and colder outside. I really don’t know what to do. What would you do? Thank you!
@@Anita_She I know you really care about this bird so I’m reluctant to give advice (either way) that may not end well. I can’t be certain how adapted to the wild it is vs. how dependant it may be on you still for survival. Or how easy or difficult it is for you to look after it if you keep it. Do you think you could just let it out and keep letting it in at night? If you do keep it in all winter it may be even harder for it to adjust to the wild next spring. Does it eat well in captivity? I’m not sure there’s a right or wrong decision so you might have to go with your gut. It’s a wild bird but it has had a bit of a different upbringing. House Sparrows are quite tough little birds in general. I personally might be tempted to let it out to be with its own kind if I thought it was adapted enough. Sounds like it should have lots of other house sparrows for company. Hope this helps🙂
"Frogs, toads and snails" would like broken pieces of cinder blocks tossed in (angle down).
U got nails in that one board
Please don’t create a structure like this in the city. Someone built this on my neighbors lot and we had a problem in my neighborhood with rats and field mice - until it was removed.