On my balcony, on top of a tall shelf, I have a potted succulent. Today I found a bird's nest in there, with 2 eggs. The bird scared me to death (almost) and flew away. Now she's back sitting on her eggs.
Is there any way to "move" this family? Or do I have to wait until the eggs hatch and they will all go away eventually?
Serious answers only, please (and no animal cruelty jokes like 'eat the eggs').
2007-03-17 13:05:34 · 11 answers · asked by LDB_Career 3 in Pets ➔ Birds
Thanks for the great answers so far - I will leave them be.
If you still want to answer, here's a follow-up: I want to put out some bread crumbs - good idea or not?
2007-03-17 13:28:27 · update #1
The other two answers are great. Just wait for her to raise her family and enjoy the show. If you try to move the nest, she will abandon it. She chose what she thought to be the safest location to raise her chicks.
I have house finches checking out nesting sites on my porch overhang. We had three nests there last year. After the chicks fledge you can remove the nest.
Additional Info:
If you are going to put out bread, put out whole grain wheat bread. Make sure you put it out at the farthest place from the nest you can get. If you attract too many birds to her nesting area she may abandon them. You can also put out wild bird seed and some cut up veggies and fruits.
2007-03-17 13:11:44 · answer #1 · answered by Christie D 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Good choice on leaving the birds alone, since the vast majority of birds are protected by federal law, expect the chicks to leave +- 6 weeks after hatching . Bread crumbs= bad idea. Leads to malnutrition as its basically empty calories, not to mention if they feed that junk to growing chicks the malnutrition issue is accelerated (think about it they grow very fast, nutritional deficiency for even a short time can have a big impact on chicks). It gets stuck in their crop; then either they can't feed or it gets moldy ... which can then lead to respiratory infections and death, so no bread. You also don't want to put a food source to close to the nest, you may attract unwanted attention, competitors, predators etc. On the other hand if they are a seed eating species you can place a bird feeder some distance away, besides providing some food to the parents you'll attract all kinds of neat birds.
2007-03-17 15:00:11 · answer #2 · answered by crazy.carabid 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, please do wait it out, and enjoy the show. It would actually be illegal for you to remove the nest under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act if you live in the U.S. They should only be there for about a month total if the babies survive. If the nest is prey upon or the eggs don't hatch, it will be even sooner. Happy bird watching!
2007-03-17 14:22:24 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I had the same thing happen on my patio a few years ago. Frankly, I love birds, and it was a joy for me to see the mother taking care of her eggs, and then to finally watch them hatch from afar was a thrill for me. You should not disturb the nest. Enjoy this experience and the miracle of nature. You may never get to see it again. Besides, the eggs will hatch fairly quickly, so they won't be there for all that long.
2007-03-17 13:11:23 · answer #4 · answered by Mr. Blue 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Leave it alone. It's probably a house finch. I've had them build nests in the hanging baskets on my balcony. It only takes a few weeks for them to hatch and raise the babies, then they'll fly away.
2007-03-17 13:09:23 · answer #5 · answered by Resident Heretic 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Have to wait, otherwise the bird will abandon the nest. You might want to put a tarp down below to keep the bird poop to a minimum.
2007-03-17 13:08:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Leave it alone. If your scent gets on the eggs or nest; the parents will abandon the next, and the chicks developing in the eggs will die.
After the eggs hatch and the fledglings leave; then move the potted plant.
2007-03-18 03:35:47 · answer #7 · answered by Rev. Two Bears 6 · 0⤊ 4⤋
dont touch it, leave it alone, some day the egge will hatch and have something fun to watch. they wi leave soon.
2007-03-17 13:10:21 · answer #8 · answered by skcs11 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
i have found a mother bird with her eggs and i called the humane society it is in the front of your phone book. I was at the grocery store about a month ago and i was waiting for a cab and under the wood pallets outside there was a mamma cat with her 4 kittens and i went in side the store real quick and got a can of cat food then called 311 non emergency and they contact animal control to get them. you can ask them if they will be safe on your balcony for now
yeh about the bird and her young i wouldnt touch the nest id call 411 or look in your phone book for wildlife! good luck! layla
2007-03-17 13:12:19 · answer #9 · answered by yusuf shahid 1 · 0⤊ 8⤋
you'll have to wait until they babies and mom can fly away. if you move them she may abandon them.
2007-03-17 13:13:54 · answer #10 · answered by MommyCaleb 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋