Any one got any advise on birds nests???
I got starlings in my sofits at the front of my house and have just noticed a sparrow going in a hole in the wall on the back of my house. The hole is from an old over flow pipe from the bathroom, i think.
I think theres a law protecting nesting birds or somthing??

Birds, their nests and eggs are protected by law, and it is illegal to destroy or interfere with them except under licence. I'd recommend contacting your local council to see what advice they can give you.

They will be gone soon. First season's batch of Fledglings don't hang around and once they have flown the nest... block up the holes etc.

Yes, Melboy is right, but theres not much time between first and second clutches,and unless youre watching the adults movement intensly, its going to be difficult to be sure you dont seal in a second lot of fledglings. Perhaps you could wait till end of Summer, its still only one nest to clear, theyre surely not that noisy , and a second clutch wont make that much more mess?

Sparrows are apparently getting rarer because of the lack of suitable nesting sites - maybe you should out the starlings (noisy buggers) and keep the sparrows?

I've just found you this - sparrows are on the RSPB's red list, so watch them with pride!

http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/h/housesparrow/index.asp

i not worried about the mess or the noise just worried about any damage that might happen. Since moving in to our house in nov it just seems to be a diffrant problem every month and this is may's problem.Still it could be worse.
Think it best to wait till end of summer and then block up the holes.

It is quite funny watching the sparrows squeezing through the little hole and sitting there with just its head sticking out

I don't think that birds nests are a house problem in the same way that other things are a problem - for example, squirrels can eat through wires, but I don't think that birds can do much damage to a house (unless their droppings are corroding metal?)

hi, i am an ornithologist(looks and protects birds of wild life), and i have a licence for handling them. i agree with what the others said, and i would either contact your local counciller, call the rspca, or wait until the end of the summer.

leave them be for now. Once the eggs have hatched and the nestlings have flown, it should be safe to turf out the nest, clean out any stray twigs, and block up any holes so that next year you don't have any uninvited guests.

Ary.

I agree with leaving them alone for this season.

Have you any bushes or shrubs in your garden for them to nest in? Also put up some nest boxes for the birds to use. I have several boxes (some quite close to the house). These are used year after year by all sorts of birds. It's great to see them emerge from their nest box and fly away happy after a safe season.

If it were my house I would look upon it as a privilage (and a sign that the house has good karma) and leave it full-stop and welcome them back in future years. After all what possible long-term harm could they be doing. Our wild birds are having such a hard time finding nesting sites nowadays since people seem intent on sealing up every little hole and crevice.

C

I agree whole heartedly with that. People are chopping down hedges and trees which the birds would normally use. Hence they seek somewhere else to nest. Instead of cutting things down, trim them back. It's much better for the environment and the animals too.

We get starlings nest in our roof every year, at the moment the parents are busy feeding the young.

They don't cause any problem.

we ALWAYS had swifts nesting in our eaves. It got to the point that when we saw them return it marked the beginning of summer for us.