This cute Tufted Titmouse may be building a home soon, if it is not already, depending on where you live. Have you ever put out dog fur for them to use as nesting material? Titmice, and other small songbirds that use nestboxes and cavities like the Black-capped Chickadee, will take fur that you put out in say, an empty suet cage, and use it to line their nest.
Some have even been known to try to pull the fur right off a dog or another animal! You may want to be sure, of course, that the fur is free of any parasites or chemicals and is otherwise clean. They will readily pull out very large amounts and rush it right back home to continue the construction. I remember doing this years ago with my dog and watching them take it all from a cage. The birds then saw her on laying the porch and came closer, seeming to contemplate if they could go take some more before ultimately deciding against it. That would have been…interesting…
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
