Not sure if this is the right place for it but figured I’d ask.
Doing some spring cleanup in the yard, getting the patio area all ready to go for warm weather and discovered these guys. Cuties, but their parents are shitting EVERYWHERE. Ethically removing these babes feels wrong, but also they really gotta go.
Additionally, would love tips on how to get bird doodoo off of pavers…can’t power wash pavers so is scrubbing the next best option?
Any thoughts on prevention techniques? Thinking I’ll need to put some sort of wire or mesh up in these corners.
by lindslinds27
15 Comments
Leave them. They’ll be gone in a few weeks. Then you can block off the area
As others have said, just leave them, they’ll be gone in a few weeks.
If you’re in the US, Canada or Mexico, it’s illegal to mess with most active bird nests (meaning there are already eggs or hatchlings in them). I’m not sure what kind of birds those are so I can’t tell you if they’re protected or not.
Here’s a good post about the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that protects native migratory birds: https://www.reddit.com/r/Ornithology/s/64Rrf4A7hS
Wait for them to move out, then destroy the nest.
You can place a trash bag/ paper under their nest so the poops don’t get on your pavers. Also why can’t you power wash or hose down the pavers? I haven’t heard that before so I’m curious
Do nothing, except check the grounds before you let your dogs out
I’m not super knowledgable about ornithology stuff but these look suspiciously like starling chicks… get an ID from someone knowledgeable, then (if you’re in the US which I think you are from a quick profile look) humanely euthanize them. starlings kill native birds and out compete them for nesting spots, one of the reasons eastern bluebirds were close to extinction for a while. it’s kind of depressing to have to do it, but ethically it’s the correct choice
if they’re some other type of bird / you live somewhere else, most songbirds leave the nest after 2-3 weeks, and these aren’t newly hatched, so just wait it out. for getting poop off of patio pavers, I’ve found that it works best when the poop is soaked wet. you can wait until it rains or go set your hose out there with the mist setting on for like an hour, then it will come off much more easily
Let them squat until they leave the nest. My husband and I have some freeloaders build a nest in our grill. Something ate the eggs so it wasn’t a long-term tenancy. 🙁
The naturalist in me just lets them be. They’ll be gone soon enough and they’re hardly hurting anything.
What you really outta be watching for is wasp nests in crevices like that.
They look like house finches, and believe it or not those guys will fledge in about a week
For the bird poop, plain old dish soap and a scrub brush can work. Or you can use “Absolutely Clean Bird Poop Remover” and yes that’s a real product.
https://absolutely-clean.com/products/absolutely-clean-bird-cage-cleaner-copy
Leave it. 🫶🏻🙏🏻
for the babies i’d leave the nest alone until they’ve fledged and then block off that cozy corner with some mesh so they don’t move back in next year
These are House Finches. You don’t mention where you are, but if you’re in the USA, it’s illegal Federally under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to disturb the nest in any way while the parents are building it, or if there are eggs or babies in it.
Messing with the nest at this point carries a fine of up to $15,000 and 6 months in jail. With House Finches it is fine to remove the nest in a few weeks when they’re gone. Until then you just gotta deal with the poop. With some other birds (like Robins) who reuse their nests multiple times in the same year, you can’t remove it until fall after the full breeding season is over.
The only exceptions in the USA are nests of:
* House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) – European, MBTA-excluded, you can remove nests, eggs, adults, whatever. Many native bird advocates actively trap and dispatch them because they’re cavity nesters that murder bluebirds and tree swallows in their nest boxes. Like, literally peck the adults to death and build on top of the bodies. **Kill them and their babies whenever you can!**
* European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) – same deal, MBTA-excluded, fully legal to remove. Also a cavity competitor and agricultural pest.
* Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) – non-native, unprotected, legal to remove.
* Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) – feral city pigeons, unprotected.
* Mute Swan – unprotected and actually classified as invasive in many states.
Lay down a tarp with bricks on it under the nest and chick it when they leave
Keep cats/dogs away from nest until after they have fledged and aren’t still hanging around nearby