Bird built nest in my fishtail hoya! should i remove it?
tlbean2004
9 years ago
I put my fishtail hoya outside about a week ago. When i looked at it yesterday i saw that a small bird built a nest in it. What should i do? will it hurt the plant?
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tlbean2004
9 years agoRelated Discussions
No Birds Nesting Yet After All
Comments (6)Oh, I can give you some first hand knowledge on the little Carolina Chickadees in my yard!! About a month ago, I noticed that they had already built a full nest inside one of my little birdhouses. Now, they seem to be unable to make up their minds about where they want to nest. They have been in and out of every little house that I have hanging.I have personally seen them in 7 of the houses. They are leaving little pieces of green moss in each house. I assumed that this must be a territorial issue. I figured that they must be leaving the moss in each house to discourage any other pair of Carolina Chickadees from nesting there. Just my thoughts tho. I still don't know what they will finally choose....See MoreEastern Phoebe: question re: fledgling birds' first flight from nest
Comments (64)My phoebes had skipped a year of nesting in their usual place (above the porch light fixture near my office door). My mirror set-up had scared them away. I should have realized that birds do not "like" mirrors -- but I didn't think about it at the time. I did see a bird pecking all day at the mirror, looking behind it, then pecking angrily at it when seeing the "intruder" again. That bird came back the next day to peck at the mirror again. I felt sorry for him wasting his time. But, I didn't think about the phoebes reaction being the same. So, they never nested there last year. I removed the mirror, but they still did not return to nest there this spring. Instead, they nested on another side of the house -- under our raised deck (same as last year). But, after the 1st brood was fledged -- THEY MOVED BACK TO THEIR OLD NESTING SPOT! So, the phoebes apparently got fed up with the disturbances created by our toy poodle (who is let out onto our raised deck several times a day.) The poodle would be walking directly over their nest, and possibly pissing over their nest. The nest building started May 25, 2021 and completed on the 30th or 31st. The mother was sitting on the nest on May 31, and there were 2 eggs in the nest. So, the first egg was likely delivered on May 30. By June 3, there were 5 eggs. All the eggs hatched on June 17 -- so, exactly 2 weeks after the last egg was laid. Interesting that all eggs hatched on the same day, even though each egg was laid a day apart. When I peeked, all the shells were gone. So, even tho I didn't see it, I assume that the parents removed all the egg shells. I also see the parents flying away with baby-bird poop. The poop looks like worms, and the parents carry it away from the nest. They either drop it or eat it (it is undigested food). Today is June 23, and the parents are often very busy bringing food. The bay birds are still too small to see without using a mirror over the nest. Here is a link to a very interesting article from 1937, detailing the observations of nesting habits of phoebes as studied over a 3-yr period. A few interesting details: Female does all the nest building. Incubation starts at varying times - sometimes after 3rd egg, sometimes after 4th, sometimes after 5th. The male apparently does none of the incubation. After fledging, the young birds remain close to the nest, getting farther way as the days pass. Both parents still feed the young after they fledge -- feeding them for periods of up to 18 days. Reliance on the parents gradually decreases. The parents may eventually show harsh treatment of the young to get them to go out on their own. Interesting. https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v059n03/p0410-p0417.pdf...See MoreShould I remove 100 ft Norway Spruce that's about 15 ft from my house.
Comments (49)The pic added by huggorm is not helpful to this discussion. Nothing remotely like that need be done here-as he himself does explain. Again, do as you please, but the doomers and gloomers here are going way off the tracks IMO. A few judicious pruning cuts would have that up and off your house in no time. Nor would it look ungainly. Now one thing to keep in mind-I have two-and especially one-very large, old arborvitaes-I don't know what cultivar but they look more or less like species except stay greener in winter.....and the seedlings thereof, which I collect regularly, grow unbelievably fast for an arb. In any case, the one in question is at the midway point of the front of my house, right adjacent to our front porch, so in a sense, badly out of scale with the house. These are big plants. But here's the thing: I like the tree more than I like the house and it provides a very nice, cool microclimate in warm weather up on that porch, holds uncountable birds and other critters, etc. So I'm not just thinking design elements here. And all of the attributes I'm listing for this big old arb could also apply to your spruce. I think another fallacy in play here is that one must always, everywhere, raise a tree up equally all the way around. Yes, I would normally do so too, but in certain cases-and this is one of them-an unbalanced approach can get you where you need to be. So in this scenario, more raising up would be done on the house side. Trust me, it can work....See MoreShould I even bother with a box for my BB if I have HOSP around?
Comments (3)Hi Kaitlyn- I'd put up a bluebird box. I've got a good # of HOSP, too, but the sparrow spooker has worked out so far. My EABL's had 3 broods last year. The reason why the spooker goes up after the 1st egg is because the bluebirds are committed to the box after they lay an egg. Once you put up the spooker, make sure the bluebirds take to it. If you've got a 2nd egg the next day, then you're good to go. The reason why you don't want to keep the sparrow spooker up all the time is so the HOSP don't get too used to it. After the babies fledge, you take it down. The Sialis site is the best site to guide you on how to deal with HOSP. Fishing line can be used year round, but you want to make sure it's thick enough & weighted down so no birds get caught up in it. If HOSP get to box 1st, you are legally allowed to remove their nest & eggs. Sometimes, a Van Ert trap is necessary to trap them in box if they keep invading, but you need to monitor hourly so you don't trap a bluebird or something else. Others use ground traps, too. The Sialis site should guide you through this. Also, I feed dried mealworms in winter & live ones during nesting season to keep the bluebirds around. HOSP will eat anything, but they like seed better than anything else, so I don't use it. Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with. Nicole...See More
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
9 years agovioletwest
9 years ago
Denise
9 years agoDenise
9 years ago
greentoe357
9 years agotlbean2004
9 years agoAnd we now have 4!!!
These eggs are soooo small! I have seen the bird which is small too but i dont know what kind it is. I will try to get footage.
They are a little bigger than the size of a marble.
tlbean2004
9 years ago
Pagan
9 years agovermonthoyas
9 years ago
PROJan Sword-Rossman Realty 239-470-6061
9 years ago
sweethearth2015
9 years ago
Houndhome
9 years ago
marco
9 years agoDenise
9 years agoFOUR! How cool. Are they robins? I think robin's eggs are blue. It's so much fun watching baby birds grow and mamas feed them and then watching them eventually fly. It's happened many times over the years on my front porch. Mostly robins, but a couple years ago, I had barn swallows...
Nesting right up in the corner on my porch!! I so enjoyed watching them grow up, mama feeding them, and I was so proud (but also sad) to see them leave the nest. Such fun watching birds grow up and go off to be independent! I never get tired of watching the process...
Denise in Omahatlbean2004 thanked Denisetlbean2004
9 years agomarco
9 years agotlbean2004
9 years agoAnd there is the first of the chicks! They are soooo small.
I will get better pictures tomorrow.
Liberated
9 years ago
christine 5b
9 years agomarco
9 years agoDenise
9 years agotlbean2004
9 years agoUser
9 years agochristine 5b
9 years agovermonthoyas
9 years agomarco
9 years ago
Anna Helgadottir
9 years agotlbean2004
9 years agoUser
9 years ago- PRO
Jan Sword-Rossman Realty 239-470-6061
9 years ago vermonthoyas
9 years agomarco
9 years agoAnna Helgadottir
9 years ago
Ziemia
9 years agoDenise
9 years agotlbean2004
8 years ago
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