Step by step pictures & videos that will help you to know how to make a waterbird or earth bird nest...For a tree bird, knot the nest into a tree...Change the diameter depending on the bird...A Trumpeter needs 43 inches to 4 feet diameter...A Mute swan less...A goose less than that...Then a duck...try to fill in all the gaps to avoid tripping hazards...Different rope feels different in your hands- look for softness & thickness to make it an easier task...Nylon is softer than polypropylene...Sisal is biodegradable but hard on the hands & messy, though cheap...Experiment...Feel free to use this as a class project...Your birds may thank you! Sari Grove...
SCREEN CAPTURES
Notes are from the blog post at www.grovecanada.ca The rest of the pictures mentioned are there...
12/08/2011
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Even bengal cats like the nest! (Animals have been requesting these nests from me ever since I began making them...Horses, squirrels, owls, eagles, dogs, cats, this is an all purpose kind of nest-just change the rope material to suit your purposes...Poly rope floats as a by the way, Sisal is biodegradable, twisted nylon is so gorgeous at 3/8 inch you can make a nest for your wife!) Tie strings can be left long at edges to tie down nests if necessary...
here is Trumpeter nest number 8 design prototype after a little bit of work...Notice I changed the rope to twisted nylon, & I changed the diameter of the rope to 3/8 of an inch...
I used 3/8" twisted Nylon Rope(for the outside ring), which comes in 50 foot bags at Canadian Tire...It is fabulous rope, & you don't need gloves to protect your hands while weaving- no mess either...(um, oh, since you were wondering, I am actually going to finish the Trumpeter Swan Nest with the red & white diamond braid poly rope seen on the spool below the video box...)
Big Important Link: http://groveontario.webs.com/apps/videos/videos/show/13161165-how-to-weave-the-monkey-chain-knot-to-make-the-trumpet-swan-nest-or-any-other-bird-nest- Ok, this big important link takes you to our other website which has the video on How to Connect the Monkey Chain Knot as you go along weaving...(the video shows Sisal rope 1/4 inch being used, but it is the same technique for any rope)...Basically you are just looping into loops you have already made...(it is EASY)...
About the red & white rope I used in the middle of the nest: http://www.contractorsrope.com/braided-polypropylene-rope.html (Note: it says not good outside, but that refers to places that get lots of sun & heat...It is fine for wet, dark, cold Toronto outdoors, near to a pond...)
materials if you want to make on yourself...(Different sizes will appeal to different waterbirds or earth birds...) 4 feet to 43 inches is a Trumpeter size, a little less gets you a Mute Swan, then a Canadian goose, then a duck & so on...You can put a nest in the crotch of a tree- strap it in with some extra rope, & it makes a nest tree nest...Put a nest in an imaginative place, send us a picture, we will post it...Put some wild bird seed in the nest to make it a sure seller...
3/8 inch red braided rope, this is a 500 foot spool from Canadian Tire, & I got 20 feet free just for asking! ("Jerry" at the Yonge Davenport store is very helpful)... Reasons I am using this rope: Well, one of the most important reasons is the red and white: Red is a colour that Trumpeter swans can see & are attracted to...In fact, the reason our wild bird seed is called "Red Ribbon" is because if you tie a red ribbon to where you are putting out your wild bird seed, the wild birds will be attracted to it...Same with using the red in the nest rope...They will be attracted to the nest...Also- (manufacturer specs on the rope follow)...* Easier to handle than twisted poly or natural fibers Great for water use: floats, resists rot and mildew Low stretch and ideal for a variety of uses Excellent knot retention Safe working load: 220 lbs.Polypropylene is the lightest all-purpose rope material and, as such, floats. In addition, it is very resistant to rot, mildew, and corrosion from chemicals. For these reasons, you'll be well served using it in the pool as a marker, for boating or other water sports, or for camping, both applications which will benefit from its excellent knot retention.
This is a nest made of 1/4 inch Sisal rope...(43 inch diameter)...Sisal is cheaper, biodegradable & requires jersey gloves to protect your hands while weaving, plus the straw makes a mess of your home a little...(harder to weave than a smoother rope too-needs more muscles)...
Red Ribbon wild bird seed is the best we have found on the market- tastes really really good! (yes, Sari has eaten it herself- Dad was a doctor & taught his family that you should eat a little of whatever your animals are eating first- if not, how will you know what it tastes like, or if it is safe?(tastes really good boiled with sweetener & milk! high protein)...The seeds are bigger for a swan...It is very fresh because it sells fast...Price right now is $11.99 cad for 15 kilograms- a bargain...We have gone through over $2,500.00 of this stuff at least...Trumpeter swans like it! (& two of them had four cygnets this year after a winter of being fed Red Ribbon, so it worked!)...The higher nutritional content of this food means you can feed them well one day then it keeps them going much longer than cheaper foods...Which helps them better since they often move around alot & you can't get to them so often...)
Finished maybe? So with the easier to knot rope & the larger 3/8 inch diameter of the rope, I used only 600 feet of rope (instead of 750 feet with the 1/4 inch Sisal rope)...I may still fill in some gaps tomorrow...We'll see...
What you are looking at is a USB rechargeable hand warmer pocket size in pink, which comes with a plug, a USB cord, & a lanyard for your neck...You charge it either in an electrical socket or at your computer, then you can hang it around your neck & it keeps you warm on a cold day...
But here's my thought: Insert it into your Trumpeter swan nest to make it a heated Trumpeter Swan nest...Just stick it into one of the gaps in the rope...
If you really want to get fancy, throw a stretchy conductive fabric over the nest, over the hand warmer...Now the whole nest will get warm...(or if you don't want to buy conductive fabric, get some thin copper wire & attach it to fabric that you have...Put the copper side face down on top of the hand warmer on your nest, with the soft fabric side on top...This is probably too complicated & possibly not safe, but the germ of an idea is there for me or others to work with...The idea being, heated Trumpeter Swan nests for the winter months...)
Click the picture to see an excellent selection of Conductive Fabrics...prices shown on the site are normal for the market...So my thought is to put a layer of this conductive fabric over your nest, with the hand warmer underneath...This will make the whole nest warm...Hopefully...What do you think? Any better ideas?
added a food tray & water cup...will fill in those gaps this week- they really are obvious now as I look...more rope to buy as I am out!
below: I added the picture of the rechargeable hand warmer & the conductive metal fabric...The idea is to place the hand warmer in one of the gaps in the nest, face up (metal side up), then lay the conductive metal fabric on top of the nest...This should make the whole nest warm...(I have not tried this yet, as I am waiting for the hand warmer to arrive...Also, I am investigating pricepoints on different conductive metal fabrics, as well as considering weaving a thin copper thread through the nest myself-or doing something similar to a fabric myself in a do it yourself way...) The conductive fabric should be removable, since metal fabrics get cold if there is no handwarmer present...)
Cleaning Up! I added 100 feet of 3/8 inch glow in the dark green poly rope...Then I added 50 feet of white braided nylon rope...The first to close up gaps...The second to clean up any tripping hazards...God is in the details, no?
