Disturbed blackbird nest

[Pippaclaire]

We had a very happy blackbird family in a camelia bush well shaded by a rowan tree. today we came home to find our landlord had sawn the down the rowan leaving the nest very exposed. The parents were still feeding the three chicks but, worried they would suffer badly in this very hot weather we tied an umbrella to the rowan trunk to give the nest shade. I'm now very worried we have over disturbed the area. Would the chicks be okay in the sun? The umbrella was put up in near dark and the parents came back once butcould not be seen after that. Should we leave well alone now or remove the umbrella before morning? There is plenty of access to the nest but not from the top. Thank you, pip

[dunlin]

Originally Posted by Pippaclaire

We had a very happy blackbird family in a camelia bush well shaded by a rowan tree. today we came home to find our landlord had sawn the down the rowan leaving the nest very exposed. The parents were still feeding the three chicks but, worried they would suffer badly in this very hot weather we tied an umbrella to the rowan trunk to give the nest shade. I'm now very worried we have over disturbed the area. Would the chicks be okay in the sun? The umbrella was put up in near dark and the parents came back once butcould not be seen after that. Should we leave well alone now or remove the umbrella before morning? There is plenty of access to the nest but not from the top. Thank you, pip

Hello pip and welcome to wab,
I would be tempted to leave well alone and watch them from your house. Maybe put some food out for them to help them on there way. It shouldnt be long before they are leaving the nest

regards mark.....

[valleyforge]

Hi Pippaclaire and welcome to the forum ...

You are probably very right to be concerned about nestlings overheating if left in full sunshine ... young birds and animals can find it difficult to maintain a safe body temperature if they are not able to get themselves into some shade.

However, erecting a strange structure such as an umbrella so close to the nest has undoubtably spooked the parent birds.

It is only natural that their greatest instinct is for self preservation ... if they survive, they can have another brood. That said, they also have a strong instinct to protect their young ... and the older the nestlings are, the greater the will of the parents to continue feeding them. Parent birds are much more inclined to abandon eggs or very young nestlings, than offspring that they have already invested a lot of time and energy on.

So really this situation requires close monitoring to see if the parents are still feeding the nestlings. If they are, good ... cause no more distubance to the nest or family until some time after the young birds have fledged and have left the nest for good.

If the parent birds have made no appearance or attempts to feed the youngsters, then the brood will need to be taken into care by an experienced wildlife rehabilitator if possible, to ensure their survival. If the parents have indeed deserted the nest, then the nestlings should not be left more than 12 hours into their normal feeding day (starts just after dawn).

It is not practical to just leave food for the nestlings ... they can't feed for themselves and won't until quite some time after they've left the nest.

Be aware that approaching the nest again in daylight might well trigger a panic reflex in the nestlings and make them flee the nest, possibly injuring themselves in the process. If the parents are not about to feed them, they won't survive. Likewise, if they aren't close enough to fledging when they jump the nest, the chances of surviving even with the parents around are also considerably reduced.

There is a list (not exhaustive) of wildlife rescue organisations on this website at: Animal Rescue Centres in the UK | Wild About Britain

Make some calls and see who is able to help you ... the closest centre on this list may well know of someone closer who isn't listed.

Best of luck ... please keep us posted/

[Pippaclaire]

thank you very much for your supportive and informative replies, very much appreciated.

We left the umbrella up and were delighted (and relieved) the next morning when very early mum and dad blackbird could be seen around the garden energetically collecting food and flying into the bush to feed the three chicks.

it was as you know very hot yesterday but the umbrella seems to have worked as again this morning the chicks are making lots of healthy noise and being constantly fed.

We will keep an eye on how the family is doing and use your rescue centre contact details if a problem occurs but at the moment all is well again in the camelia bush.

It was great to find this forum,
thank you
Pip

[valleyforge]

That's excellent news Pip ... thanks for letting us know.

Hope you long enjoy being a member of this forum.

[phil48]

Just wanted to drop this into here for anyone who has disturbed a Blackbird nest! I was moving ivy from a tree and to my horror found a nest on the floor with 3 chicks in it, all still ok. I quickly found some rubber gloves and placed them back in the nest high up in the palm tree and vacated the area. Later in the aftenoon mum was feeding them again. The chicks were a decent size and it was clear that mum could hear them asking for dinner. This goes to show that parents may return if you are quick to sort out any mess you cause.