[roffers]

Hi, there, I've come on here for some advice really more than anything. I'm not a major bird lover, so don't really know anything. But I'm a big fan of nature so I've hopefully come to the right place and any help will be greatly appreciated.

Ok basically a pigeon decided to nest in my potted bay tree on my balcony today. It's not a large balcony by any means, but the problem is, I really don't want to disturb it. And I at least need to being my washing in. I'm not sure if I should even open my window or door in case the noise will disturb Mother and eggs. And the door is right in front of the bird.

But how long is it going to take for the eggs to hatch and the new baby birds to fly away and I can have my balcony back?

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions anyone has to offer.

[KnockerNorton]

Do you know what kind of pigeon? Is it a feral (town) pigeon, collared dove, or maybe wood pigeon? I'm guessing one of the first two, and probably the former.

In that case, it will be nearly 3 weeks til they hatch, and then another month til they've left. Not good news.

With any of these species, it is in fact legal to remove the nest and eggs if they are causing a problem. It sounds like you have little choice but to disturb it, so the nest is unlikely to survive in any case. If the bird is off the eggs for more than alf an hour, they'll die. And you can't really restrict your balcony use to half an hour at a time. Removing the eggs now would nip it in the bud, and the bird would find a more sensible place to nest - especially if you made the planter less appealing. Or you could maybe just try and not disturb it and see how it goes. If you stay around 6ft away then the bird should sit tight, depending on how flighty it is. But that also depends on the size of your balcony!