You spend years teaching them to fly.
First it’s learning to walk. Then it’s how to cross the road without getting flattened. Later it’s bigger stuff... how to fix a flat tyre, cook pasta that isn’t glue, and pay the power bill before the lights go out.
And then one day, they pack up their room, load the car, and go.
Off to uni. Off to a new city. Off on their big OE, backpack heavier than they are.
The house is suddenly too quiet. The laundry basket is weirdly empty. The fridge stays full longer than it should.
And that’s when it hits you: the nest has emptied.
What No One Tells You About Empty Nesting
Everyone talks about the early years of parenting. The sleepless nights. The first steps. The school runs. The never-ending mountain of dishes.
But hardly anyone tells you how it feels when it’s all over.
There’s no manual for this part. No “Empty Nest for Dummies” guidebook. You’re just left standing there, waving from the driveway, pretending not to cry.
It’s a weird mix of pride and heartbreak. You want them to go. You need them to go. That’s the whole point of raising kids... to set them free.
But man, it leaves a gap.
A Little Steel Reassurance
That’s where the idea of the Metalbird Empty Nest Gift came from.
We started noticing something in our orders. People weren’t just buying birds for memorials or birthdays... they were buying them for moments of new beginnings. When kids left home. When families shifted into new phases.
One woman bought a pair of Fantails for her garden after her youngest moved out. She emailed us saying, “I just needed something to look at out the window that reminded me they’re still flying around somewhere.”
Another dad sent his daughter a Hummingbird when she moved to Sydney. He told her, “When you see birds, think of home.”
These are tiny acts, but they land big.
Why Birds?
Birds have always meant freedom. Flight. Movement. Change.
But they also mean returning. Coming back.
In New Zealand, the Tūī shows up in the same trees year after year. In the UK, Robins are constant companions, flitting around the garden like little reminders. In North America, the first Cardinal you spot each spring is like a hello from something familiar.
Birds leave... but they also return.
That’s why people choose them when life shifts. When the house empties out. When the routines change. When you need a bit of reassurance that letting go isn’t the same as losing.
Marking the Moment
We’re not great at marking life’s quieter milestones. We do the big ones... weddings, funerals, birthdays. But the smaller stuff? Like your last kid leaving home? That gets skipped.
At Metalbird, we reckon those moments deserve to be acknowledged too.
Because parenting doesn’t stop when the nest empties. It just changes shape. You go from fixing grazed knees to fixing Skype calls. From tucking them in at night to texting “Are you safe?” at 1am. From cutting their sandwiches to cutting them some slack.
A bird in the garden can be a way to mark that shift. A symbol of the fact that you’ve done your job... and now it’s their turn to fly.
How Our Birds Get Used
We’ve had people tell us they’ve:
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Planted a Tūī next to the kitchen window after their youngest moved to Auckland
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Sent a Robin to a son heading off to university in the UK, so he’d have “a bit of home”
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Installed a Hummingbird in the backyard as a symbol of new beginnings when the house felt too still
These birds become part of the daily landscape. They catch the light. They develop a protective patina that weathers in the rain and locks in place, shielding the bird while it softens beautifully into the surroundings.
They remind you, quietly, that change is natural... and love doesn’t vanish just because someone’s packed their suitcase.
What You’re Really Giving
When you gift a Metalbird for an empty nest moment, you’re not just giving steel. You’re giving permission.
Permission to miss them.
Permission to feel proud.
Permission to grieve the change and celebrate it at the same time.
It’s a way of saying: “I love you. I miss you. And I’m okay.”
Want to Send a Little Steel Love?
If your nest has just emptied... or you know someone staring at the echo of a teenager’s bedroom... we’ve got you covered.
Pick a bird that means something to you. Maybe it’s a pair of Fantails, always returning. Maybe it’s a Cardinal, bright and bold. Maybe it’s a Hummingbird, small but full of energy.
Whatever you choose, it’ll be more than a garden ornament. It’ll be a marker of a new chapter.
Find your bird here