Help!

Posted by Justine | April 15, 2009 | 25 Comments

Alright, I’m completely hijacking this blog to set up my own personal advice council. I’ll admit that I’m completely lazy, and in February, the Christmas wreath was still on the front door:

One day, in late February, we noticed some twigs and straw stuck in the wreath. Hmmmm, strange, how’d that get there? Oh, wait…It’s a bird’s nest!

But we did nothing about it, mostly because we liked the idea of a bird diving at our faces every time we walked toward the front door.

But now…just as I was finally getting around to taking the nest and the wreath down…

It seems I’m stuck. And soon, we’ll have a protective mother bird after us each time we open the front door. But I just can’t bring myself to kill the poor little babies!

What would you do?

Category: Slice of Life

Comments

25 Responses to “Help!”

JM
April 15th, 2009 @ 10:19 am

use the back door?
Justine
April 15th, 2009 @ 10:21 am

The kids want to raise them as pets. I’m just worried that they’ll accidentally fly into the house when the door is open!
Karen
April 15th, 2009 @ 10:28 am

I’m with JM. Could you use another door?
chanson
April 15th, 2009 @ 10:34 am

So sweet!

I’d leave it up and try to avoid disturbing them as much as possible (eg. JM’s back door suggestion). Don’t think of it as an inconvenience, think of it as a unique educational opportunity! Not just for your family, but for everyone if you blog about it.

Also, I’d discourage the kids from trying to take the baby birds out of the nest. They have a mom, and they’re living creatures, not toys. Even little kids can understand that.
Andrea R.
April 15th, 2009 @ 10:39 am

I agree with using another door, and you can always change the ribbon on the wreath to correspond with the season…
Tiffany W.
April 15th, 2009 @ 10:51 am

I would leave the nest and use it as an awesome biology lesson and start using the back door. Keep us posted!
Geo
April 15th, 2009 @ 11:17 am

Back door, yes. Window if you have to. It’s a once in a lifetime gift.
Patty
April 15th, 2009 @ 11:21 am

Maybe you could move the wreath and nest to a nearby wall,while the parents are watching. Do it before the babies are born.
KR
April 15th, 2009 @ 11:22 am

How funny! If you do not want to kill the birds then the back door (or garage door?) idea seems reasonable. Maybe also put a note on the wreath so that visitors can be warned not to disturb it.

This could be a great opportunity to teach your children about birds and the life cycle. Also advise them not to try to help the baby birds out of their eggs because if they do not struggle to get themselves out using their own beaks, they do not become strong enough to live and they die. Great parallel to some trials we all have to go through in life.
Sue
April 15th, 2009 @ 11:27 am

I’d lock the front door and use the back one. We’ve had nests in our yard before, and the cycle doesn’t really take too long…I think it would be worth it.

It is just so cool to have a nest that visible! I am both envious and (slightly) sorry for you.

heehee
Justine
April 15th, 2009 @ 12:41 pm

The kids are just so excited to watch it all unfold. I can’t bear to take it away. I’ve taken the advice to heart and have deadlocked the front door with strict instructions to use the side entrance! I’ll keep you updated!

(and I’m really embarrassed that it didn’t occur to me to change our mode of entry into the house…)
jenny
April 15th, 2009 @ 1:01 pm

That is seriously pretty cool.

But, shhh.
Don’t tell my procrastinating self that there are actually sweet rewards for my behavior.

I don’t think I’ll be having any nests built in my now dangling Christmas lights. (Weather, hello? Can we please get on the same page? Everytime we have a spare moment you like to storm on us… ugh.)

At least we don’t plug them in at night.
wendy
April 15th, 2009 @ 1:56 pm

You may have to put some kind of sign outside of the front door so company will come to the side, too.

I love your little gift!
Sarah in Georgia
April 15th, 2009 @ 1:59 pm

Oh. Dear. This brings back traumatic memories.

One year, my roommate had a red berry wreath on the front door. While I was moving out and using the front door that we never used, some birds in the front yard kept dive bombing me. I figured they must be attracted to the wreath and took it off the door so I could pack in peace. Setting down the wreath upset the nest that I didn’t know was there and broke the eggs. It was a mess, I was a mess, and four years later, I am still traumatized. And I don’t like birds. (And I refuse to put any wreath on the front door that things can live in.) So I vote for leaving the wreath and using another door. I like the idea of a sign on the front door for visitors as well.
Carina
April 15th, 2009 @ 3:13 pm

You could do what my dad did when that happened to us: We were forbidden to use the front door. Back and side doors only until the hatchlings left the nest.

Told you he was Atticus.
Carina
April 15th, 2009 @ 3:15 pm

p.s. never touch the nest. Birds will abandon the nest and eggs if they smell like human. Mama bird might abandon the babies if your babies go to close. Best to watch from the window.
Brenda
April 15th, 2009 @ 6:25 pm

I think it’s sweet and so adorable! Your kids will enjoy seeing the mama bird take care of her babies. They won’t be there forever. Use the garage door for now.
Zina
April 15th, 2009 @ 11:04 pm

I would have made the same suggestion everyone else did — use a different door for a while.

For anyone in the Provo/Orem area who wants to see some eggs in the wild, we saw a duck nest with six eggs in it among the rocks on the west side of the pond at Nielsen’s Grove on Monday. Although there were lots of kids poking around, the mother duck appeared to have not abandoned the nest yet — she did come and sit on it shortly after we noticed the eggs.

(I wonder how well the duck, nest, and eggs will have done in the snow.)
SilverRain
April 16th, 2009 @ 6:55 am

Here’s the voice of a cynical pre-vet med student.

First, what kind of birds are they? If they are robins or sparrows, I’d spare them. Not starlings. Starlings are pests that drive away and kill other birds and their eggs/nestlings. I probably wouldn’t be overly concerned about pigeons, either, since they carry diseases. (I doubt your nest is a pigeon nest, though. Pigeons usually nest on flat roofs.)

If you do decide to get rid of them, do it soon. There will still be enough time for the parents to find another nesting place and lay another clutch of eggs. The longer you wait, the harder it is for them.

If you choose to spare them, be prepared for a lot of noise and filth on your front door. Birds are not clean animals. I’d also warn with a sign for visitors to go to the back door.
SilverRain
April 16th, 2009 @ 7:00 am

Oh . . . and also, it is a myth that the birds will abandon the nest, eggs or nestlings if they smell humans on it. They built their nest on a human door. If they were that squeamish, they wouldn’t have.

There are, however, multiple other reasons not to touch bird nests, etc. Salmonella is one that easily comes to mind. Oils from your hands can keep the birds from breaking out of their eggs, and some eggs are very delicate and easily broken. Also, most fallen nestlings are unharmed if you put them back in the nest, but they will fall again soon. Nestlings are usually out of the nest for two reasons: 1) they are trying to learn to fly, and will just jump right back out again, or 2) they are somehow diseased and are rejected by their nest mates or the parents. The parents/nest mates will just push them out of the nest again.
Justine
April 16th, 2009 @ 7:11 am

Oh, Silverrain, thanks! I’m going to try and find out this morning. I don’t want this to cause problems. I’ll go get my bird book and try to figure out what it is!
elizabeth-w
April 16th, 2009 @ 7:18 am

Hope I’m not too late. This happened with us with an Easter wreath by our front door. They were a lot of fun to watch, but when they left the nest, all their fecal matter was all over the wall the wreath was on. And it does NOT COME OFF! I guess there’s enough acid or something in it to sort of eat at the paint/wood.
As much as we loved watching those featherless, pink creatures it was an awful mess afterward.
Justine
April 16th, 2009 @ 9:06 am

Well, I took it down this morning. It was a starling, and it started to get kinda confrontational with the kids when they were within 20 feet of it this morning. No mess, yet, thankfully, and the wreath is even unscathed.

I felt terrible about the four eggs in the nest, though! Even if it was a pesky starling.
Melissa
April 16th, 2009 @ 10:32 am

Oh darn! It’s probably for the best, though. I’ve always thought it was sad that starlings have such a pretty name and are such an awful bird.
m&m
April 16th, 2009 @ 10:19 pm

Ah, drat. I was all ready to come over and show the kidlets.

Isn’t it great to have smart people around who know stuff like this, though?