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Can a bird move a nest with babies in it?

8 years ago

Yesterday I noticed a bird on my porch that I have noticed several times in the last few weeks. I briefly looked for a nest a couple of times before and found nothing. But this time I decided to move things. We have had a pot with a dead pepper plant sitting on a rocking chair with a small old rug carelessly thrown over it for months. When I decided to move things I truly did not expect to find anything as this area is where my 4 young children play every day. So I grabbed ahold of the rug and another item sitting next to the pot and yanked them up exposing a nest with 5 tiny feathered babies inside. I just stood frozen not know what I should do next. I set the other item back where it was as it was keeping the pot steady but the rug was actually somewhat a part of the nest. I carefully tried to drape it just right back into the formation it was in. But I know it's not as it was. The mother has returned and is feeding them but each time she returns she gives them food and grabs a piece of the nest and takes it with her. Any information or advice would be appreciated.

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Comments (2)

debaus07
Original Author
8 years ago
Never mind. I went out this morning and the nest is destroyed and babies are gone. I feel so bad :( I wish I had been gentler when searching. I know it's my fault. But once it happened there was really nothing I could think of to do to make it right. Oh well.. :(
catherinet
8 years ago
Sorry about this debaus. Unfortunately these things happen sometimes.
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can i move a birds nest with eggs in it?
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For anyone in the future looking - while I understand your quandary, you certainly did the best thing for your home and your health. Often birds have mites. Being on a wreath on your front door, chances are the mites would have made their way into your home. My understanding is they are extremely difficult to be rid of (minus a match). Our family found out the hard way about mites. Bird had nested in our primary door wreath when we were away on vacation. We just used an alternate door so as to not disturb them. Thought it would be interesting with the kiddos to keep an eye on how things work. A few days after they hatched, I kept noticing a black smudge on the inside of the door. I'd wipe it off, another would show up. I finally looked really close and saw the smudge was moving! MITES. Birds nest had to be moved immediately! We put it in the closest tree (about 40' away) lt turned out fine as momma found her lil ones. They took flight within a couple weeks, it seems like.
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Expecting them to hatch and feed a batch of baby birds during a move is a bit much. Depending on the birds ... move the nest to a spot as close as possible to the original spot, with the same height and sun exposude if possible. That's about the best you can do. Move it too far and they won't find it - they are locked in to the top of the storage unit as a navigating point.
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They take about 19 days to fledge from egg hatching onwards; you may want to try and figure out approximately how long the parents have been feeding them and that should give you an idea of how many days more to go. Pretty soon you should start to see some action
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Can you attach a cloth sling around it (like a hammock)? Or perhaps move nearby / nestle it into a crate, basket, or other container?
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