Recycle woody debris, such as fallen branches and clippings from pruned shrubs and trees, to create shelter for songbirds. Brush piles not only provide year- round cover for birds, they also are excellent nesting sites for small mammals and invertebrates.
- To build a brush pile with optimum value for birds, select eight or so straight, untrimmed branches about 2 m long.
- Arrange the branches in a teepee-like framework, with butt-ends anchored in the ground and tips interlocking. The idea is to create an internal space where occupants can perch safely off the ground.
- Pile evergreen boughs on the top and sides of this framework to form a dome.
- For added benefit, train climbing vines, such as Virginia creeper, scarlet runner bean, or honeysuckle, onto the brush pile during planting season.
- Each year, add a few new boughs. Leftover corn stalks will make a welcome addition to the brush pile in the fall.