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Midwest Gardening Bird Watching Garden Clinic

Tilting bird nest with babies inside. What should I do?

2 years ago

My neighbor has finches nesting on her wreath. While the nest looked fine when it was built, as the babies grow it has been tilting more and more. Now it is so tilted that when you stand on the ground you are able to see the 3 babies in the nest. My neighbor and I are very worried that the nest is going to fall. There is concrete below the wreath, and the wreath is about 5-6 feet off of the ground. Should I try to move the nest or just see what happens? Will the babies survive a fall from that height onto concrete? What should I do if the nest does fall? Any information would be helpful.

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Comments (4)

morz8 - Washington Coast
2 years ago
Without a photo showing us if a quick discreet fix is possible, something that could be accomplished in moments almost so as not to have Mom notice and possibly abandon them....it's really hard to answer your question.

Often, no intervention is the best road to take, we can sometimes do more harm than good with our 'fixes'.

House finch may fledge in as little as approx 15 days. How close are these?
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
agree.. leave it alone ... its natures way ....

if you want to put a bin of compost or something else soft below ... a cushion if you will ... that might be the best you can do ...

ken

add a pic to a reply by using the camera/photo button below the box you type in ... hit send after it clears ... it helps to already be signed in ...
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I need to check on mine today Gary. My male is fairly skittish, and he like to do a big "fly in your face to intimidate you" kinda thing. I never get bombed by the birds in my yard, and I think it's because I am out there so much. This particular male though is skittish, and it really worries him for me to actually touch his box! He is fine as long as I don't touch it. :o) I may take my step stool and an umbrella out so that it's easier on him and me!! I will let you know. Mine should be hatched out by today if all is going well.~~Angie
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I doubt the egg would be any good after it is sitting in the sun that long. If it was a newly laid egg (when you found it) and the nest was placed up where the birds could have safely nested, it probably would have survived but the bird would not try to finish nesting in the nest on the ground. I would dispose of it at this point. The scent thing is an old wives tale. Birds have a very poor sense of smell and would not know that you touched the nest, however touching the egg could mean the oil from your hands would prevent it from hatching.
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HU-529201566
Original Author
2 years ago
The babies were farther along than we thought! They flew yesterday without any issues.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
great... so there was nothing for you to fix ...

id remove the nest .. so they dont do another brood immediately ... and maybe they can build a new one better this time ... and even better if they are dissuaded for this spot ...

my usual qualification is.. dont fix what isnt broken.. and apparently this wasnt broken.. go figure. ..

ken

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