New residents -what to do? A dilemma!

[Feltwell]

Working away in my garage this morning, I spy some movement out of the corner of my eye - and realise that a blackbird has been coming in through an open window and has started building a nest on the wallplate in one corner of the roof!

The question is, what to do? She is still building her nest - no eggs yet, otherwise I definitely wouldn't disturb it.

Leave her alone - but, she may well get disturbed by me working in there, I have a lot of work still to do in the roof space. I'd hate to lead to her abandoning her eggs or even worse her chicks. Also, I'm worried that she'll struggle to get the fledglings out of the garage - they'll have to fly from the nest to get to the open window, which is about 8' above the floor. I'd hate to go in there and find dead fledglings if they got trapped.

Remove the nest now and close the window. Seems a great shame but might be the kindest option. Do blackbirds start building their nests before they are pregnant, or is pregnancy the key to start nest building?

Any ornithologists out there?

 

[Feltwell]

May just have answered my own question - it's illegal to disturb it for starters, courtesy of the RSPCA:-

All wild birds in England, Scotland and Wales are protected
under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 (and subsequent
amendments). It is an offence, subject to certain exceptions –
such as the control of some species for permitted reasons
under licence – to intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while that nest is in use or being built. It is
also an offence to take or destroy an egg of any wild bird or to kill, injure or take them. Special protection is also provided
for rarer birds listed in Schedule 1 of the Act (see box above), where it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb a
wild bird while it is building a nest or when it is in or near a nest with eggs or young; or disturb their dependent young.

Looks like I'll have to just disturb her as little as possible. I just hope the young are OK! I may even quickly build a horizontal "ladder" across from near the nest to the window, that hopefully the young will be able to flutter/hop across.

Of course all the birds in my garden have completely ignored the lovely nest boxes I built for them earlier in the year, and are nesting in all kinds of awkward places that stop me from tidying up various bits of the garden and doing work on certain bits of the house :roll: :lol:

I'll take some solace from those birds that always nested in the warehouse roof where I used to work - the forklifts etc clanking about below and pallets being lifted up quite close to their nests never seemed to bother them. Only thing is, "my" blackbird will only see me at weekends and maybe won't get as used to me as the warehouse birds.

 

[Sandsni]

Birds do have a habit of ignoring our attempts to help them and building in the most awkward of spots. A starling regularly nests in the gap for the extractor fan (we really should have replaced the grille up there before now :roll: ) from my parents' kitchen. We never think about it until they actually start nesting and by then it's too late, but I think we're going to have to block the gap at the end of this season as we suspect they may be attracting flies (although it's hard to tell what's down to the birds and what's simply because they put a landfill site in the quarry nearby :? ). We, too, put a few nesting boxes up on the house in the hope that someone would use them, but apparently they're just not as attractive as we imagine .

Let us know how your feathered friends get on.

 

[Johnboy]

This is a genuine picture taken at work last year, the nest was on top of the manifold of a Daf skip lorry which was in use about twice a week. When we came to service the lorry we were amazed to find the nest and even more amazed when we realised it was still inhabited! :shock:

Needless to say the lorry was de-commisioned until mother and family left of their own free will. Incidentally, while the photo was being taken she was perched on the roof of the office protesting very loudly.

 

[Penners]

Is there any way that you could construct a little enclosure around the nest, so that it's a wee bit protected from disturbance by your activities in the rest of the attic? Maybe a three-sided cardboard box, or some such?

Obviously it would have to be positioned so as not to obstruct the birds' in- and egress from the building.

 

[Feltwell]

It looks like she's abandoned the nest

Rather odd really - she was flying in and out all day yesterday, whilst I was working in there, until about 4pm - she didn't seem bothered by me so long as I wasn't right underneath the nest. It seemed we could both be in the building with no great problem.

But today there's been no sign of her at all.

 

[worms]

We had robins and they were very active building the nest, then there was less activity as the female came once a day and laid an egg each day for six days*. She was only on the nest long enough to lay, then disappeared for the rest of the day. So if the pattern is the same your nest may still be destined for use.

Sadly our robin nestlings all disappeared over the space of a couple of nights, long before they were ready to leave the nest, and the parents haven't been seen since.

*We know this thanks to a nest cam.

 

[Feltwell]

I've left the nest alone just in case she decides to return. There's no eggs in there though.

Still, at least the blackbird nest in my front garden hedge - they use the same spot every year - has been successful, despite eejit neighbour trimming his side of the hedge :evil: . I've seen one juvenile from there hopping around the front garden being fed by mum & dad a few weeks ago, and mum is back on the nest now so we should see more in the near future.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh, poor Feltwell - so many changes of mind with these birds, not your fault.

I did such a terrible thing a few days ago, I took down a nest in the woodshed a blackbird had been sitting in, who seemed to have disappeared. There were three hungry chicks in it, so I put it back in double quick time, to turn round and see her on the window ledge with a beak full of grubs giving me a withering look. I fled, and fortunately my actions don't seem to have interrupted her - I guess she's pretty used to me, and indeed nested there as it's a few feet from the chicken feeder. And I've had to catch so many blackbirds in the hen house and set them free, they're not very good at telling a window from a pop hole and frequently get stuck. They do seem to get pretty tame though.

We're very fortunate in that Macavity never touches birds, so we really do have a lovely variety visiting, with a yellowhammer and partridge family being the latest.

£20 a week on chicken and bird feed though.

 

[Penners]

£20 a week on chicken and bird feed

You're not supposed to feed birds on foie gras or caviar, Joce. They'll be just as happy with a few Duchy Original biscuits. :wink:

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol:

We've got a good little web of interdependence going though, rabbits eat the corn, rabbits get hunted, skinned, gutted, roasted, the hunter ( a neighbour) gets eggs, the chickens and other ground feeders get roasted rabbit, which they far prefer to pellets and corn anyway. Not sure what DEFRA would have to say but seems to be working.

 

[Penners]

:lol:

We've got a good little web of interdependence going though, rabbits eat the corn, rabbits get hunted, skinned, gutted, roasted, the hunter ( a neighbour) gets eggs, the chickens and other ground feeders get roasted rabbit, which they far prefer to pellets and corn anyway. Not sure what DEFRA would have to say but seems to be working.

Blimey - your livestock eats better than I do!

 

[skier-hughes]

I put up a nesting box for our blue tits and found it was 4 years until they started using it.

 

[Moo]

Wash your mouth out with soap, Mr Penrose!!!!

As anyone who has tasted her food* will attest, Mrs P is a superb cook.


* (and seen your expanding waistline)

 

[Penners]

I was going to make a 'funny' remark about the taste of soap, as compared with that of my normal diet.

But I'm now worried that I'm going to be reported....

 

[CliffordPope]

Some birds build decoy nests and put an egg in, with no intention of sitting on it, and then build the real nest somewhere else.

Peacocks do, but I don't know about any other species.

 

[another_richard]

Thought this might help

All birds, their nests and eggs are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended), Part 1. It is thus an offence, with certain exceptions (see below) intentionally to:

• Kill, injure or take any wild bird.
• Take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built.
• Take or destroy the egg of any wild bird.
• (Intentionally or recklessly) disturb any wild bird listed on Schedule 1 while it is nest building, or at a nest containing eggs or young, or disturb the dependent young of such a bird.

Full Legislation

All birds, their nests and eggs are protected by law and it is thus an offence, with certain exceptions (see below) intentionally to:

• Kill, injure or take any wild bird.
• Take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built. (see time for cutting hedges)
• Take or destroy the egg of any wild bird.
• Have in one's possession or control any wild bird (dead or alive) or any part of a wild bird which has been taken in contravention of the Act or the Protection of Birds Act 1954.
• Have in one's possession or control any egg or part of an egg which has been taken in contravention to the Act. This includes items taken or killed before the passing of the Act.
• Have in one's possession or control any live bird of prey of any species in the world (with the exception of vultures and condors) unless it is registered and ringed in accordance with the Secretary of State's regulations.
• Have in one's possession or control any bird of a species occurring on Schedule 4 of the Act unless registered (and in some cases ringed) in accordance with the Secretary of State's regulations.
• Disturb any wild bird listed on Schedule 1 while it is nest building, or at a nest containing eggs or young, or disturb the dependent young of such a bird.

Exceptions

The most notable exceptions to the above provisions are:

• There is no such thing in law as a 'pest species', but an authorised person (e.g. a landowner or occupier) may kill or take species which are listed on a general licence and destroy or take the nest or eggs of such a bird, for specified purposes only. This is permissible under the terms of general licenses issued by government departments. See Schedule 2 for more details of this and to see the current licences.
• A person charged with killing or attempting to kill a wild bird, other than one included on Schedule 1, shall not be guilty of an offence if he can show his action was necessary for the purpose of preserving public health or air safety, preventing spread of disease or preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber or fisheries (see licenses).
• A person may take or kill (or injure in attempting to kill), a bird listed on Schedule 2, Part I outside the close season.
• Anyone may remove and destroy addled eggs but they must not be kept or sold.
• Authorised persons may take wild mallards' eggs for breeding, but the young birds must be released into the wild by 31 July. Wild mallard eggs and progeny cannot be sold. Wild eggs must not be taken later than 31 March in England and Wales, or 10 April in Scotland.
• Anybody can use nets to take wild duck in a duck decoy which was in use prior to 1954.
• Anybody can use a cage or net to take any game bird for breeding, but it remains unlawful to net any bird in flight or on the ground with a net not propelled by hand. An obvious example of this is bird-ringing for scientific purposes, which almost always requires the netting of birds in flight. This activity can therefore only be undertaken by a licensed person.
• A person may take a wild bird if he can satisfy the court the bird had been injured other than by his own hand and that his sole purpose was to tend it and then release it when no longer disabled; or he may kill it if he can prove it was so seriously disabled as to be beyond recovery. Sick and injured birds listed on Schedule 4 should be registered with the Department of the Environment or passed to an approved keeper.

Licenses

Licenses may be issued by government departments to kill or take birds and/or eggs for the following purposes:

• Scientific or educational
• Ringing or marking
• Conserving wild birds
• Protecting any collection of wild birds
• Falconry or aviculture
• Taxidermy
• Preserving public health or air safety
• Preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber or fisheries
• Killing a gannet for food on the island of Sula Sgeir
• Taking a gull's egg for food
• Taking a lapwing's egg for food before 15 April

Licenses may also be granted for the sale of live birds (except those listed on Schedule 3, Part I) and the sale of dead birds or their parts; for scientific examination and photography of a Schedule 1 species at its nest and for the public exhibition or competition of birds not listed on Schedule 3, Part I.

 

[Flyfisher]

General licence information here:
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/regulation/wildlife/licences/generallicences.aspx#genlic

But in summary:

WHAT THE LICENCE PERMITS
2. For the purposes set out in paragraph 1 above, and subject to the terms and conditions, below, this
licence permits:
(i) Authorised persons to kill or take any of the wild birds listed at (a) and (b) below, to take, damage
or destroy their nests or to take or destroy their eggs:
(a) Crow Corvus corone
Dove, Collared Streptopelia decaocto
Gull, Lesser Black-backed Larus fuscus
Jackdaw Corvus monedula
Jay Garrulus glandarius
Magpie Pica pica
Pigeon, Feral Columba livia
Rook Corvus frugilegus
Woodpigeon Columba palumbus
(b) Goose, Canada Branta canadensis
Parakeet, Monk Myiopsitta monachus
Parakeet, Ring-necked Psittacula krameri

I can't say I've seen many Parakeets in our part of the country.

 

[MdB]

I can't say I've seen many Parakeets in our part of the country.

There are plenty in London / Surrey / Kent. Noisy buggers...

 

[Penners]

Aggressive, too. Here's a picture I took in Australia: