One of the ways to help the birds at nesting time, is to help with the gathering of some of the materials that they use. A suet block holder is a good place to start.

As many birds can not cling to the feeders comfortably, small perches can be inserted. Packs of these small dowels can be purchased at craft shops and dollar stores.

Attached one or two dowels to the cage, These can be at different levels, one on the bottom of the net and one on the next rail. Small pieces of wire or string can be used to hold them in place. Let the dowel protrude on both sides.

Wire can be attached to the four top corners, a single piece for each can be used.

We used a thick old piecs of bark for the top or roof to help keep the materials dry.

Mark where two holes should go for the wire hangers. These should be on the outside of the cage as shown here. Drill 1/4 inch holes through the top.

Feed the wires that are attached to the cages corners through the holes. With the wires secured to the feeder in this way, it can be accessed for adding more materials when it is taken down. This is shown above.

When it is hung up, it pulls the feeder up tight to the roof. Fill with the materials that birds use: short ends of string or twine, 4 inches or shorter are best, hair, human or animals, sheeps wool, catkins fluff, bull rush fluffy seed heads, cotton batting, moss and lichens. That would be a good start.