bird nest problems

[divingmoose]

Hi,
We have been living in our victorian terrace for last 2yrs and last year i noticed that the old wooden facia board had come away fom the front of the house in one corner and that birds were getting in and nesting. I am not sure what they are but very small dark coloured things. At the end of last year my builder friend re connected the facia as a temporary measure, as some time we will want the slate roof re roofing and and new facia boards etc, but this is a good few years away from being done. Now we are in the process of redoing the 2nd floor bedroom into ensuite master room and when i lifted the floor boards i found the remains of the chicks from last summer, when i look along the floor joists towards the front of the house i can see the remains of the birds nests. I was wondering would it be worth getting to the nests and removing and using some of the expanding foam to fill any gaps i may find. It may be that now the facia board is back on they may not get back in but just thinking whilst boards are up etc shall i get really dirty and sort them out.
Thanks Lee

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

If the nest is active, I believe it against the law to remove it.
If it is not, remove the nest and seal any gaps or holes, best do it now (winter) before they come back.
In the mornings are best time to seal gaps as this will prevent you from trapping any nesting birds.

 

[noseall]

Bare in mind that some birds can get through a hole not much bigger than a wedding ring so your gap filling exercise needs to be quite thorough.

When it comes to nesting, they are rather tenacious and will keep on building 'till they find the right spot. It is not uncommon to find part built nests or completed nests that were never used.

Beware, if there are any holes in the building a sparrow will find it.

 

[Burnerman]

Are birds building nests yet?
Either way, if you are using expanding foam as a filler, bear in mind that it will happily lift slates if there's nowhere else for it to go.
John

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

pigeons nest all year round, I think

 

[Milo19]

All birds are protected by law, however 12 species can be culled under a "general licence" (Feral Pigeon, rook, Jackdaw to name a few)

By the sounds of it, these smaller dark coloured birds will be a protected species, possible house sparrow, starling or other small bird.

My advice would be to remove the nesting material wearing gloves and preferably a mask and then seal any small holes with fine mesh and expanding foam...HOWEVER, be careful when using foam for the reason mentioned in a previous post about foam damaging the tiles!

Failing that, use a silicone sealant that wont expand!