Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-27-2011, 05:31 AM
 
2,418 posts, read 2,026,331 times
Reputation: 3479

Advertisements

Hi everyone, hope I am putting this in correct forum area... I have a back porch that has become a very protected spot for 2 robins & their nest. It is built on top of an outdoor speaker & from the view I have, there are 2 or 3 chicks coming along nicely.

The porch has about 16 feet of concrete before the chicks will meet grass. My concern is that the chicks will be hurt or killed when they drop out of the nest to the concrete below. I read that they fledge after about 2 weeks; I estimate another week to go. I put straw there just below the nest & the wind managed to have it go everywhere but the preferred spot. So I rumpled an old blanket there & my two dogs found it comfy.

Keeping the dogs away is obviously another part of the problem as the porch is their access to yard, but I think I can take them out leashed til birds fledge.

Any thoughts/advice you can give will be much appreciated.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-27-2011, 05:41 AM
 
Location: Atlanta, GA
1,123 posts, read 6,527,149 times
Reputation: 569
I am sure they will be fine....growing up we had finches that would nest in our garage every year, which meant crossing over probably 20+ feet of concrete before escaping the garage for the babies...never saw any that didn't make it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-27-2011, 05:52 AM
 
2,418 posts, read 2,026,331 times
Reputation: 3479
Thx for the reassurance, spacelord. I will be watching that nest "like a hawk" (groan) so I can get rid of it as soon as the chicks have gone. What a mess with droppings everywhere... I don't want the mama to lay any new eggs in there if I can stop her humanely.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-27-2011, 07:47 AM
 
672 posts, read 2,109,535 times
Reputation: 1178
To keep her from renesting you should put something up there to block access to the nice flat platform made by the speaker.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-27-2011, 09:03 AM
 
2,418 posts, read 2,026,331 times
Reputation: 3479
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mary Ann789 View Post
To keep her from renesting you should put something up there to block access to the nice flat platform made by the speaker.
Didn't even think of that- Thx!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-27-2011, 12:09 PM
 
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan
30,707 posts, read 79,590,461 times
Reputation: 39445
The will be fine. We have robins nests all over our house and carriage house. They come back to the same nest every year and their offspring apparently nest nearby 9or maybe it is just their friends). WE have 7 or 8 nests in different places three of them are over concrete and we ahve never found a dead fledgling on the ground.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-27-2011, 12:28 PM
 
2,418 posts, read 2,026,331 times
Reputation: 3479
Thx coldjensens, I just got a msg from a state-funded environmental education center. I called them other day & left msg. like my OP above. I am chuckling because the msg from the girl at center is telling me in no uncertain terms that I will be violating federal migratory protection laws if I remove nest before labor day - even if it's empty. She goes on to say that I can be fined over 500$ + prison time if I so much as touch the nest before then.

So I called back this....hmm...overzealous young woman shall I say, & told her that I love animals & promise to leave nest alone UNTIL its empty and chicks are out for good. But I also said that I am not waiting til september to have a clean porch again; to be able to let my dogs in & out, etc. Her threats didn't faze me - she can come & clean the droppings when she shows up with the handcuffs.

Next time I will search CD first!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-27-2011, 12:55 PM
 
672 posts, read 2,109,535 times
Reputation: 1178
Quote:
Originally Posted by bridgerider View Post
Thx coldjensens, I just got a msg from a state-funded environmental education center. I called them other day & left msg. like my OP above. I am chuckling because the msg from the girl at center is telling me in no uncertain terms that I will be violating federal migratory protection laws if I remove nest before labor day - even if it's empty. She goes on to say that I can be fined over 500$ + prison time if I so much as touch the nest before then.

So I called back this....hmm...overzealous young woman shall I say, & told her that I love animals & promise to leave nest alone UNTIL its empty and chicks are out for good. But I also said that I am not waiting til september to have a clean porch again; to be able to let my dogs in & out, etc. Her threats didn't faze me - she can come & clean the droppings when she shows up with the handcuffs.

Next time I will search CD first!
Uh, well that's news to me. I am pretty well versed in the wildlife laws both Federal and for South Carolina and my understanding is a person can't remove a nest in progress of being built or during incubation, hatching, raising or fledging but after fledging, it's ok.

Robins don't reuse nests anyway so actually if you were trying to be nice to the Robin, removing the nest and leaving the platform available for renesting is what you would do. Very few species reuse nests and I don't remember ever ready an account of a robin reusing. It's too dangerous - the nest gets old and unstable plus the longer it's used, the more it smells = easier for a predator to smell it, find it and eat everyone.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-27-2011, 01:11 PM
 
2,418 posts, read 2,026,331 times
Reputation: 3479
Thx mary ann789. I may get my ire up just enough to call her back & school her a bit! She was telling me the robin would be using that nest repeatedly all summer. Sure wouldn't be the first time one of our NYS environmental groups throw out a "law" without getting the facts straight first.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-27-2011, 01:22 PM
 
672 posts, read 2,109,535 times
Reputation: 1178
I sent an email to one of my friends who is a wildlife biologist to see if she can clarify the bit about when it's ok by law to remove a nest when the birds have fledged.

No way they reuse nests. All one has to do is look at the nest when the Robin is done rearing one brood. It's a wreck compared to what it looked like when she started.

Here's a good go to place for accurate animal info ADW: Turdus migratorius: Information
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:51 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top