Hi All,
We've recently discovered a nest that has been made in the trunk of a tree in our garden.
We think its a robin.
However, its not very high off the ground (maybe 2-3ft) and the opening is 2" by 3.5"
We also have a dog, who as yet hasn't noticed.
However we do have a lot of neighbourhood cats.
Is it recommended to try and prevent access from predators? It would be fairly easy to attach something to the tree trunk around it.
Or is there a risk of scaring the bird away from the nest by doing so?
And if it is recommended, what would you recommend I use to protect it? I was thinking mesh, but anything large enough to allow a bird through would also presumably allow a cats paw through.
Thanks in advance.
This nest looks really vulnerable, and i thought that Robins nest in concealed places.
I would have fitted a grille, but even with that, a cat can put its paw in. A 5cm x 5cm square mesh would allow a Robin to get through, but also a cats paw. I protected a nest last year with a grille of 5cm x 5cm square but it was well above ground.
In your case, maybe a few sticks fitted perpendicular around the hole so the cat can't even get close would be best.
Without protection the nest probably won't be succesful.
Leave well alone. People get confused with both law, and with 'foodweb'. If every robin and blackbird nest in the UK were successful, we'd be overrun. Nests get predated all the time, and have been throughout history. Predators are best preying on common species rather than rare ones. Ultimately though, nest disturbance is not allowed despite what is sometimes typed these days (though I concede the UK and World have become more lawless). I should add that far more vulnerable nests than yours have been successful. No reason why yours won't be. Depends what predators occur in your garden, and realistically, many young robins are predated in their first few days after fledging, so again, protecting the nest will only delay predation in many cases.
I don’t know if you have had a look at the 1981 wildlife and countryside as you’ve mentioned wrong information been posted many times. I won’t post again. I will say again there are exceptions where a nest in trees including schedule 1 birds nesting, can be dealt with for certain reasons.
Regards,
Ian.
"If every robin and blackbird nest in the UK were successful, we'd be overrun."
Lots of fledglings would starve, become fodder for scavangers, or be malnourished and thus likely be more effective prey items for predators higher up the food chain.
A alternate variant on your obs.
I wonder why you have disagreed with my opinion on this. A mystery.
As this is clearly opinion, and something impossible to prove one way or another, unlike the thread I corrected your opinion on, I'll just write that "overrun" to one person is hundreds of thousands or maybe millions different to another person. It can therefore be argued one way or another.
Facts are though that to meet my, "overrun", for your opinion to be correct, you'd need predators to agree to 48 hour days, prey for blackbirds and robins to drastically drop, and those extra fledged young to be more incompetent at self sufficiency than those that would fledge anyway without humans saving every nest.
My threshold would be reached after they have become a major issue for less robust species they out compete like spotted flycatcher. Not a good policy saving every robin nest