Garden clearance - birds nesting?

[franco50]

I have an area of overgrown garden ground I wish to clear of shrubs and small trees but am concerned that this time of year may not be the best due to nesting birds etc. especially if they are about to lay eggs soon.
I appreciate that different breeds may produce their young at varying times of the year but wondered if anyone could advise if I should avoid this work until later in the year.
I live in central Scotland (postcode EH55) if that helps.

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by franco50

I have an area of overgrown garden ground I wish to clear of shrubs and small trees but am concerned that this time of year may not be the best due to nesting birds etc. especially if they are about to lay eggs soon.
I appreciate that different breeds may produce their young at varying times of the year but wondered if anyone could advise if I should avoid this work until later in the year.
I live in central Scotland (postcode EH55) if that helps.

Hi Franco

Yes, as you suspect, this is certainly not a good time to do any heavy pruning or clearing of vegetation. Disturbance to a nesting area also includes while birds are building nests, so even if they haven't laid yet, potentially you could cause a nest site to be abandoned. Some species have already laid eggs so again, especially early nesters such as those which have multiple broods eg. Blackbirds, Wrens,and Robins, risk of abandonment is high.

Between September and February is the best time for heavy gardening/tree/shrub pruning. You may be able to do some light hand pruning provided you are absolutely certain it's not in the vicinity of a nest, however unfortunately nests are rarely discovered in this situation until it's too late and the surrounding protective cover that they needed to make the nest site safe has now gone and the nest ends up being either abandoned or subject to predation.

Worth mentioning too, that if you knowingly prune/clear an area where birds are nesting, you could be criminally liable under the Wildlife and Countryside Act

See this thread
Hedge Cutting

Garden Resources: The law on cutting a garden hedge

Some more info here on the RSPB site
The RSPB: Advice: I have a blackbird nest in my wildly overgrown hedge. The babies have hatched, but how do I know if this is the blackbirds' first brood?

For signs of nesting activity in your garden see here:
Don't disturb nesting birds in the garden. (From Worcester News)

It's worth mentioning that overgrown areas of weeds etc will seed and provide valuable food resources in the late summer.

[franco50]

Thanks for your reply picidae. I suspected that would be the case and to be honest there is no real rush for me to do this work, I have lived here for the past 7 years with that part of the garden in that state so another few months won't be a problem. What prompted me to ask in the first place was I saw a blackbird hopping into the undergrowth at the weekend.

Thanks again.

[Elizabeth B]

Hi franco - how about leaving it for another 7 years (or better still, for ever)?

It sounds like the sort of area that is sadly lacking in many of today's gardens, and may be much appreciated by any wildlife that visits you.