Birds will take advantage of various materials available to them when they are constructing nests—such as the plastic netting depicted in this photo. Unfortunately, many human-generated materials make their way into nests. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology advises against offering items such as plastic strips, tinsel, cellophane, aluminum foil and dryer lint. Instead, provide a combination of dead twigs, dead leaves, feathers, plant fluff, moss bark strips, pine needles and dry grass that has not been treated with pesticides. Learn more at www.allaboutbirds.org/news/providing-nest-material-for-birds-dos-donts.

I observed this lovely expression of nature’s artful handiwork hanging in a small tree at Prompton State Park in Wayne County, PA, then wrote the poem in this column in response to that experience.