Last night while getting the underside of the porch roof ready for instillation of siding on the ceiling I discovered a bird’s nest, complete with babies, built in the already partially enclosed soffit. The mother is something small, fast, and dark brown on the top and lighter brown on the bottom (southern Indiana area if that’s important). The babies are very newly hatched. Basically tiny wet looking fur balls with open beaks. Over the upcoming long weekend the area where mama built will be enclosed. I’m not going to just entomb them there so I am going to do my best to move them. My plan at this point is to build some sort of shelter on the outside of the porch post closest to their current position and move the nest.
The plan: wear gloves, scoop the nest up with cardboard or something flat (it doesn’t appear attached) and move it apx four feet to the new temporary shelter. The new place won’t be as protected as the inside of the soffit but it should be OK. Wait for the babies to fly and then tear down the temp shelter.
I’m at work and lots of the sites google provides that seem like they would be useful are blocked, or have too much flash embedded for my old slow system.
So whadda ya think dopers? Will this work? Anything else I should be doing?
I don’t think you can move the nest without killing the chicks. If it were me, I’d put off the construction - it’ll only be a few weeks until the chicks are fledged.
Also, depending on the species, it could be illegal to move the nest. Check out this page.
Yep. I think the fine is up to $15,000 if convicted of a misdemeanor violation of act. Depends what you got - English Sparrow = not covered. But about 800 species are, including such ubiquitous house nesters as the House Finch. 'course the odds of you being spontaneously cited for such a thing are virtually nil, but still…
The official answer, as given above, is that it is probably illegal. Waiting until the babies fledge (grow up and leave the nest) will occasion a delay of several weeks. If you can do that, it is the preferred choice.
If not (and there are certainly some legitimate reasons, including practical considerations as well as financial committments, that argue strongly for “not”), then moving the nest will probably work fine.
Use your hands, not tools or cumbersome gloves, so you can remove and manipulate the nest and babies with as little damage to the nest as possible. If you feel you yourself need protection, latex gloves are fine. But if your fear is that old fairy tale about Mom “smelling” human then abandoning her brood, forget it. Few birds have any sense of smell.
If you can move the nest to another protected indoor location, roughly the same height and within a few feet of the original, Mom and Pop will almost certainly get over the shift. They are after all being driven by some pretty powerful hormonal systems, not by some existential committment to their babies.
Well since it’s a long weekend and if the construction is being done by pros they may charge for a cancelled appointment, it may mean a choice between a bunch of money and a bunch of birds.
I want to second that the myth of touching baby birds leads to parental rejection is just that, a MYTH.
My husband has rescued baby robins by placing them back in the nest with his bare hands. The parents made a lot of noise and dive bombed him, but in no way rejected the babies (they may stay away from the nest until you leave, but they will return) and all of them fledged.
If you MUST move the nest - and I definitely favor leaving it alone if possible - but if you MUST move it, do it while the parents are around. Birds are visual creatures. If they see that they nest is moved they are far more likely to get back to it and the babies quickly. They will be upset. They will make noise. They likely will be off the nest for a bit, so do this during a warm, dry part of the day.
There is, of course, the risk of predators showing up.
There is the risk of the babies dying.
However, you can only do what you can do. The mortality rate for baby birds is enormous even when humans leave them alone.
I just wanted to report a complete success. The nest was moved intact, with the babies still in it. I did have to do some figuring on how to construct the birdhouse. I ended up building a house big enough for the nest, and leaving one side off. Insert babies and nest intact, then fasten the side in place with a brad nailer. Momma has been happily shuttling back and forth with mouthfulls of squirmy goodness to stuff into the peepers. As soon as they are out of the nest I’ll take the house down. I’m still not sure of the type of bird, but it might be a Carolina Wren.
Just saw this and want to congratulate on a job well done. We, too, have learned it’s a myth that bird parents will forsake their babies if humans have touched them.
For others, and the future-- any interference with a “migratory bird”, including nest moving, is illegal without a specific permit from US Fish & Wildlife Services. Don’t even ask, since they’ll be handing out mittens in hell before you ever get such a permit.
For occasions like this, the careful *wink, wink, nod, nod *method will suffice. As it did for you.
