What you can do at home

Let leaf litter, bark, grasses, and twigs build up in parts of your garden, and leave spider webs where you can. Many small Australian birds, such as fairy wrens and grey fantails, use web silk to bind their nests together.

You can also put out natural materials such as dried grass, short lengths of coconut fibre, straw and bark. Skip anything long and stringy, which can easily tangle around chicks. Dryer lint is also not a good idea as it can fall apart and release chemicals.

Pick up rubbish where you can, especially hair ties, fishing line and cigarette butts. If you see a bird tangled in rubbish, contact your local wildlife rescue service.

Birds build their nests with whatever they can find. This spring, let’s make sure some of those materials are as nature intended.