No room at the inn

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Last weekend we had to evict squatters who intended to take over part of our home. It broke my heart!

They chose a highly inappropriate spot, so they had to be shooed. I hate shooing anything especially delightful bird creatures.

A robin couple had been house hunting and thought our deck would be the perfect spot for raising a family. The view was fabulous, water plentiful and food too. It is a good neighborhood except for a pesky cat that likes a bird appetizer before dinner.

Our deck has a pergola, In the beam structure there is a small indentation where a feisty robin thought he could make a very luxurious nest. It would be one of those communities with all the amenities (there was even a bird bath spa on the deck!) except it came with people living in the house. People that like to use the deck.

With an achey heart, I dislodged the nest materials. Repeatedly. That robin was nothing if not tenacious. He was not being displaced easily. Prime nest building time is from early morning until noon. Sometimes later. Overnight there would be a new nest to remove. Every few hours I’d have to go out and take down the nesting materials (which were very interesting! There were some small sticks but a lot of soft bedding material. These were great parents). I had to do this before eggs started to appear.

Since the ideal spot extended the length of the pergola, he kept moving down a little thinking that would work better. It did not. Before we knew it we were cleaning out the entire beam. The beloved husband cut boards to fit inside the area so there wasn’t any place to nest. The robins are still here just not nesting on the deck.

Had they continued to roost on the structure, I would have had to get a midwife for the birth, schedule a christening (or maybe a bris?), plan a baby shower and come up with names for the newly hatched robinettes. My spring has just freed up!

Given my druthers, I would love to have them nest so I can watch the progress. The deck is not one of those spots where I could let them be. Wishing that robin family success.

I’m taking my “for rent” advertisement out of Bird Times.

Source: Pinclipart — moziru

57 thoughts on “No room at the inn”

  1. It is. At one of my jobs I got to see a robin brood. The nest was under a canopy by a storage trailer. OMG! It was so great watching them until they flew off.

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  2. You poor thing! It is heartbreaking to have to do, and they are always so tenacious, but it’s got to be done if you are going to use your deck. Hopefully they are still nesting nearby?

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  3. Oh ya – been there and even wrote a post once simply called “Evicted!” That was ten years ago and like clockwork, they seek that coach light elbow every year. I shoved a box and a crumpled-up bag up there which looks awful. I, too, am amazed how quickly they can build a nest and I wonder how they are able to apply mud to it? I would find mud splatters on the mailbox, porch, mat … nature is pretty amazing.

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      • Indeed – the front of my house looks bad. I think I mentioned to you before that the handyman suggested netting, a metal mesh to drape around the light, perhaps fasten it to the siding. I said they’ll catch their toenails in it – I had pet birds for years and they catch their toenails on things sometimes. No! He looked at me as if to say “well then live with it!”

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  4. Well, I’m glad I’m not alone. I’ve been dismantling a nest for a week now. The location is on top of our porch light. So, every time I come out the front door, I have nesting material all over. Ugh, my heart.

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  6. I can identify with this. I had to do something similar many years ago and resorted to using netting around all these areas on a patio area in order to stop the nests. Nests in a high traffic area never go well. – Marty

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  7. What a sad story. I’m sorry you had to do that, but I understand. And you keep mentioning “he.” Is it the dad who builds the nest or the couple together?

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  8. I used to have a beautiful grapevine wreath on my front door until it became the spot for nesting! I hated to do it but had to remove nesting materials a couple of times before I gave up and retired my beautiful wreath. I love birds so much and enjoy watching them when they have nests in the trees but the front porch is a little too close for comfort !

    Hugs, Pam

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    • Especially when you use it. I have friends who had to use their back door while the front door wreath was used as a nursery! Yeah, they stopped putting out the wreath too.

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  9. Aaww the birds are soo cute but I can understand why you had to shoo them (the only birds that land on my home are pigeons and seagulls lol)

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  10. I had that dilemma once with morning doves, which like to nest in the same spot every year and mate for life. I let it go for years but when I got new outdoor light fixtures (their site of choice) on the front porch, something had to be done. I felt awful destroying their work, they had even used leftover Christmas tree tinsel for a decorative look, but I persisted and won. I still felt bad though. It’s hard not to when they’re such diligent and fast workers!

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  12. It won’t take long for them to find a new home. They’re very determined, aren’t they. At my old house I had a robin’s nest. The next year starlings took over the nest.

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  15. The first year I lived here a bird couple built a nest on my balcony in a corner under a chair. I didn’t see it until there were eggs in it so I let it stay. Now I keep an eye out for bird construction and sweep the bits away before they become a nest.

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  18. they sure wil find a home soon ;O) we have martins here, they live under our roof.. and they decorate the boardwalk like crazy… I first was sad because the people complained, but as I heard they decorated people too, I decided to accept the challenge and they can stay….

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    • Decorations are good! 🙂 I had a parking spot under a maple tree when I worked. For a month in the spring (mating season), it was covered in birds and yep, they decorated my car. I asked to be moved! Suggested they keep that spot for “employee of the month!”

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  20. Aww! I know what you mean. We want to try to explain to them why they can’t nest where they are trying to. If only they could understand English! LOL!
    It is amazing how well they build their nests!

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  21. I’m lucky in that my neighbor next door has a big ole’ pine tree that is home to various types of birds and a few squirrels. And he has various bird feeders nearby it, so they know where “home” is. I get to watch them from my kitchen window without any maintenance!

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  23. I have to run the finches off every year–they try and build nests in my hanging baskets. I’ve may have even lifted the cat up to the basket and yelled, “It’s not safe here!” in a fit of desperation.

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  24. We had a mourning dove build nest in plants that we right up against one of our living room windows once and we watched the little ones come into the world and head off eventually. The window is just under the couch and the cats had fun watching all of it too. But we did cut the plant back before the next nesting season as we couldn’t open the window for quite awhile. Still, it was neat to watch.

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    • It is. At one of my jobs I got to see a robin brood. The nest was under a canopy by a storage trailer. OMG! It was so great watching them until they flew off. They came back to that site every year.

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