[Crispy]

Hello all, I'm a newbie here and a newbie to birds. Have purchased an acreage and am learning all about many different kinds of birds.

We are preparing to leave for vacation on July 1 - we just noticed that there is a robin nest built on the jack, under the protective area of the bunk our recreation camping trailer (that we plan to use on our vacation). Mama is sitting on 3 eggs.

Can I move this nest? Before they hatch? After they hatch?

[Tero]

Originally Posted by Crispy

Hello all, I'm a newbie here and a newbie to birds. Have purchased an acreage and am learning all about many different kinds of birds.

We are preparing to leave for vacation on July 1 - we just noticed that there is a robin nest built on the jack, under the protective area of the bunk our recreation camping trailer (that we plan to use on our vacation). Mama is sitting on 3 eggs.

Can I move this nest? Before they hatch? After they hatch?

The short asnswer is NO

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/rob...NestsEggs.html

[pduxon]

welcome to the forum Crispy,

sadly you're going to have to wait until the birds have flown

[Charles Harper]

I'll offer a tentative dissenting opinion and suggest that it perhaps POSSIBLE to move it gently to a very nearby, 'equivalent' position, and the parents MAY not abandon it. This would have a much better chance of success after the kids hatch and are begging to be fed. Do it with plastic bags on your hands.

[KCFoggin]

Good morning Crispy and on behalf of the staff here at BirdForum.net, a warm welcome to you.

I believe I have to go with Charles on this one. Circumstances are not good either way but perhaps there will be a better chance of parents not abandoning the nest if you can, if at all possible, wait until the eggs hatch.

[janine13]

Some advice: move the nest a day or so before you plan to leave. Observe from a discreet location. Celebrate if the parents return to the nest and feed the babies. But if they do not, you will have to watch them starve, or else bring them to a wildlife rehabilitator.

[Crispy]

Thankyou for your replies - we have decided to postpone the vacation - I just can't bare the thought of little babies calling for mama and starving to death - just couldn't do it. Will enjoy the experience of the babies and plan to put something in the nesting place so they won't build there again.

[Beverlybaynes]

A warm welcome to you Crispy!

I applaud your decision -- and thank you for caring so much about the Robin and its nest.

In the US, it is illegal to move such a nest, as all native birds are federally protected (a law that is generally ignored and rarely, if ever, enforced). You, however, have stumbled upon the most correct plan of action of all -- delaying the vacation, and then PREVENTING nesting in the same location in the future. Preventing nesting is never a problem.

Thanks again for being so caring. You're in for a treat watching those babies grow! Please come back and tell us about it!

[KCFoggin]

Originally Posted by Crispy

Thankyou for your replies - we have decided to postpone the vacation - I just can't bare the thought of little babies calling for mama and starving to death - just couldn't do it. Will enjoy the experience of the babies and plan to put something in the nesting place so they won't build there again.

Wow! You're my new hero.

[janine13]

I am surprised and relieved to hear of your decision. Its not just anyone who would put aside personal plans because of some baby birds. Good for you.
When you eventually get to go on your vacation, have a safe and wonderful trip!

[Katy Penland]

Bless your heart, Crispy! That's a great thing to do, and not many people would've bothered. I'm especially moved by your decision because we have a nest with hatchling Lewis's woodpeckers in it, and the parents have been working nonstop all day long for weeks to feed them (I think there are 3-4 in the nest). Sadly, just a couple hours ago, I found a pile of Lewis's adult feathers at the base of one of the nearby trees, which explains why I haven't heard any adult chittering lately and why the one remaining adult is working hard to feed the babies, who call nonstop all day long (which they usually don't do). I am not hopeful that all will fledge with only one adult left to feed four large chicks. I don't know what to do about it, and like you, it's absolutely killing me to think there are baby birds up there slowly starving, and in particular a species that is listed as a "management indicator" species, meaning it's status is "vulnerable."

You are going to love your baby robins. We have one pair who fledged two young, and the spotty-breasted kids follow mom and dad all over the property, begging constantly. Both young just took their first bath in our tiny pond yesterday, one spending more than 10 minutes splashing like crazy!

[pduxon]

Originally Posted by Crispy

Thankyou for your replies - we have decided to postpone the vacation - I just can't bare the thought of little babies calling for mama and starving to death - just couldn't do it. Will enjoy the experience of the babies and plan to put something in the nesting place so they won't build there again.

nice one Crispy