My mailbox is the type attached to my house, right next to the front door. A cute little bird family has claimed it, and built a nest in it. My heartless husband kept throwing the nest out, and the sweet little bird rebuilt 3, 4, 5 times a day, and has now laid eggs in my mailbox.
While my usual mail carrier is amused and understanding and happy to hand me the mail or leave it in my screen door, I’m afraid the random carrier who brings the mail on his day off might shove a catalog or something in the box and crush the little eggs.
So how can I safely move the eggs out of my mailbox? I’ve considered buying a birdhouse to put there next to it, but I’m unsure how to relocate my little squatters without damaging the eggs or pissing off the mommy bird.
Otherwise, about how long until these little ones hatch and move out?
(I don’t know what kind of bird; about 4-5" long, very rotund, gray and white. Not a robin, but about that size.)
I’m sure a VA lawyer will be along soon enough, but according to my reading of this excerpt of the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it’s illegal to disturb the nest if it’s a migratory bird.
And I’m sure Colibri will be identify the bird presently.
If you try to move the eggs, your human scent will get on them and the momma will abandon them. Your best bet is to plan that they will be there for a while, and then once they are hatched and gone - put up your bird house and change your mailbox to something less nest-friendly.
Perhaps you can put up a sign for the stray mail carrier?
At present, I’d suggest just sealing the mailbox so the mail carrier can’t get into it (but the birds still can) and installing a more bird-proof mailbox right next to it to actually contain your mail.
And throw out the heartless husband at the same time. Seriously, I can understand wanting to bird-proof your mailbox against future nest-building in the coming years, but evicting cute little birdies after they’ve already built? Especially if they keep rebuilding after you heartlessly throw them out the first time? That’s just mean. :mad:
Maybe you’ve got a dark-eyed junco there? (click the link for it on the linked page, or check out the other candidates for black & white birds on the same page, or look here for all about juncos.) If so, Momma will be done sitting on the eggs within 2 weeks and the babies will leave the nest in another 2 weeks.
If you decide to move the nest, be VERY careful. I had an idiot cleaning lady that moved a nest above a wreath on my door once. The eggs fell out and cracked on the bricks below. The mama bird probably won’t come back if you move it and you’d have to raise the hatchlings yourself.
The old “you’ll get your smell on them and mom will abandon the eggs” is NOT TRUE. Seriously. It’s an old wive’s tale that was probably cooked up to keep kids from messing with the nests (or other baby animals) in the first place.
Most birds have no sense of smell. None. (Vultures and other carrion-finders are notable exceptions.)
I like the note idea, though.
Your description sounds like a wren except that wrens are much smaller than robins. They’re round little gray birds, though, and notorious for picking, um, unorthodox nesting sites. I think it’s because they’re not afraid of people but know that we keep other predators at bay. I’ve heard stories of wrens making nests in the pockets of clothes hung out to dry …
First of all, most bird species are believed to have a poor sense of smell. Second, while momma bird will fly off when you’re in the vicinity she WILL eventually return to the nest area. This applies to the babies, too. But she’ll likely wait longer than you will to come back to the nest.
If you move the nest she may or may not find it again. There are serious legal ramifications for nest moving if it’s a migratory bird in the US.
I’ll leave the rest for Colibri or other true wild bird experts.
They’re safe, for now, at least… I spoke to the mail carrier who will be subbing for our regular guy the rest of this week, and he kindly agreed to leave them undisturbed.
I can’t quite snap a picture of the mama bird, because she won’t sit still. I googled a wren, and she’s about that shape, and I could be overestimating her size by an inch or so. She’s like a ping-pong ball with a head and wings, if that helps.
The nest has not been touched since we found eggs, because I corralled our three little boys to stage a protest. (“Mean Daddy! Leave the widdle birds awone!”) The kids are looking forward to seeing the babies, and I’m liking the little nature lesson right on our front porch.
Now there are 5 eggs, 4 of which are sort of light beige with speckles, and 1 of which is pale blue. That seems like a lot, for one little bird…
It takes about 13 days of incubation for the eggs to hatch, then another 12-18 days for the babies to leave the nest, so you are looking at having your mailbox occupied for about a month. (here)
If you move the nest, there is a fair chance that the parents will abandon the clutch. However, it’s hard to be sure what they will do. Your birds seem to be quite persistent in building in the mailbox even though it should be obvious from having their nest destroyed over and over that it’s not a suitable place. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be too concerned about that, since if the eggs are lost they are likely to lay another clutch.
If you want to make sure the eggs aren’t lost, you’ll have to resign yourself to the occupation of your mailbox for a month. Otherwise, the best thing to do would be to get a birdhouse suitable for a wren, move the nest there, and hope the bird doesn’t abandon. I would also take steps to make sure the birds can’t build again in the mailbox.
It doesn’t sound practical here, but moving the nest in a series of short steps has a good chance of success. I have a friend who did this with the nest a Carolina Wren build in his toolbox (located in his garage). Over the course of a couple of days he moved the nest about 8 times until it was in a safe, out-of-the-way location. The birds brought off their brood (of 5) without a hitch.
Yep, after perusing the helpful links (thanks!), it seems to be a wren. Looks like the bird, and looks like the eggs. I was unaware that the same bird could lay different colored eggs, although I admit, I’d never given it much thought before.
I’ve posted a friendly little sign on my mailbox, but now I may change it to a dire warning sign if anyone messes with my little bird family.
Husband tried to tell me how it’s a federal offense to tamper with a mailbox, and I dared him to try to have the little bird arrested. Our kids have appointed themselves the guardians of the little birds and their nest, and husband has been duly chastised and threatened with prosecution (I just love this board! ;)) should he continue to harass the bird family. And we shall be shopping for a bird house, as well as a new mailbox.
We have a bird’s nest, too - we saw the nest when we moved in last summer, but we put off getting rid of the nest too long, and now there’s eggs in it again. Well, one less egg, since one fell out and broke already, but I assume the rest will be hatching any day now. So, once the birds are done with the nest and we clean it out of our house gutter, they won’t be back, right?
Actually, I was kind of wondering about that. Brown-headed Cowbirds are nest parasites, and sometimes lay their eggs in House Wren nests. However, apparently their eggs are also spotted (here in the nest of a Phoebe).
I must be just as heartless as your husband. Every spring since I’ve owned this house, a mockingbird has tried to build a nest in the decorative iron that’s right outside of my bedroom window. The first year I let it slide and got to find out how noisy mockingbird chicks can be at 5 a.m. every morning.Since then I’ve repeatedly destroyed the nest that they build until they give up and go somewhere else.
Here’s the deal, bird: This house is surrounded by trees. The closest house is almost a half mile away. I guarantee you that right outside my bedroom window is not the only place to build a nest. You are welcome to build it anywhere far enough away that I won’t be awoken by screaming baby birdies.
It is only now that I find out that my yearly ritual may be illegal:eek:
Seriously, I can understand wanting to bird-proof your mailbox against future nest-building in the coming years, but evicting cute little birdies after they’ve already built? Especially if they keep rebuilding after you heartlessly throw them out the first time? That’s just mean. :mad:
The kids are looking forward to seeing the babies, and I’m liking the little nature lesson right on our front porch.
