i found a birds nest and i moved it, did i do something wrong?

Question

ok there was a birds nest in my garage. i wana makeshoure where moved them is ok. the mother built it in a flower pot. there is three chicks in it. i had to take it out so i placed the pot on a tree where one of the branching off parts of it was sawed off so its somewhat flat. its about 4-5 feet off the ground and has a nylon rope around it to ensure it doesn't fall off. its somewhat close to its old location so i think the mother will find it. did i do anything wrong?

Answer 1

EH. It's not always true that a mother bird wont come back after you move a nest. Many times before, I have moved nests out of my garage into a nearby bush. Usually, the mother looks around a bit, and it wont take her long to hear the cries of her hungry babies. She SHOULD go back to her nest without a problem. I DID say they only USUALLY go back to their moved nests. I have had a couple of times a parent just didn't like were the nest was ( after finding it,of course ) and left. I then had to take the babies to a wildlife center. Don't attempt to take care of baby chicks yourself, depending on what kind of bird it is, it could be illegal to have that bird in your possession.



You DO need to place the pot UNDER something up in that tree though. If it rains, the pot will fill up with water and the babies will drown. They don't have the protection of the garage anymore. Also, don't worry about a mother bird not coming back because of your "scent". Most birds have a very poor sense of smell, and the fact they wont come back because their babies smell like you isn't true. Just watch the nest from a safe distance. If the mom comes back, good. If she doesn't, just contact your local Wildlife Center and they'll tell you what to do.

Answer 2

Technically, you are wrong as far as the law is concerned. It's illegal to move or disturb any sort of active bird nest, no matter how inconvenient it is placed. There was once a hawk called "Pale Male" who nested on top of a building in New York City and frequently threw down parts of rats and excrement down below.

Despite what he did, by law, the hawk could not be disturbed or have his nest moved.



It is true that some birds will abandon the nest- different species are most sensitive than others. It was an especially unwise decision to move it when there are live chicks...why didn't you do it when you first saw the nest being built, or at least eggs in the nest?



But fortunately, many birds are very tolerant of change. As long as the nest is placed somewhere near the old site the parent birds should still find it and carry on their activities as usual, especially if the bird is a more common species like a robin or dove.



Next time move the nest before there is live young in it.

Answer 3

YES.



Once a mother bird senses that someone/thing has moved her nest she won't come back. They basically leave their chicks and fly off to another place.