Nest in hanging basket

[madmax]

I have a large metal hanging basket with coco liner in which a sparrow or finch has made her nest. I didn't know this until yesterday when I was watering it with a jug - up close, and Momma flew out hit me in the chest and took off.

There aren't any eggs yet in the nest and I'm not sure what to do. Stop watering her apartment? Remove the nest and hope she has enough time before her due date to build another. Let the plants die and leave her alone.

I'm leaning towards the last option but, it pisses me off since behind my little yard is a vast wooded area with tons of trees! She had to pick this condo basket?!?

What would you do?

;)

[Paper Roses]

1. Enjoy it. She likes you! Would be fun to watch, plant next year.

I'd love to have a bird condo in my yard. Maybe Momma feels save near you.

[madmax]

2. After I posted

I went outside with my coffee and sat there hoping to see something, without going too close. Nothing. So I went over and peeked inside and she flew the coop again. This time she didn't body slam me ;) I guess she's staying.

She should feel safe, I'd never hurt her and there aren't any cats around. And my Yorkie, Maxx is ambivalent about other creatures.

Looks like I'm going to be a GranMa :P

[MajorChode]

3. Sounds like it might be a house sparrow

If that's the case I would discourage them from reproducing as they are a non-native species that adversely affects native wildlife.

[madmax]

7. I'm not all that familiar with birds...

she has wings and a beak ;) Small and faaaaaaaast! I get a glimpse of a little red when I zips out of the foliage of the basket.

[MajorChode]

9. The house sparrow has no red

I just thought it might be one of those because they make their nests in cavities, not in tree branches.

[madmax]

10. Damn, I'm conflicted

should I move the whole nest? Will she then abandon it? There are no eggs there yet.

Guess, I'm making a mountain out of this but, I only have a small patio with a few potted plants and 3 large hanging baskets. A dilema - I'd hate to acquire anymore bad Karma ;)

[MajorChode]

11. As long as it's a native bird species, I certainly wouldn't disturb it

If you don't have a bird bath, set up a pan of water nearby. There's few things better than watching a pair of birds take their fledglings out for a bath. Potted plants might be nice, but a bird nest it truly a blessing.

[madmax]

12. Thank you

Just the encouragment I needed. I had been thinking about a little bird bath. Behind our litle patio is a large wooded area. I enjoy sitting on the patio with a cup of coffee watching the squirrels, birds, butterflys. When it rains the frogs come out! They attach themselves to the patio door - makes me laugh and smile, it's a good feeling. Then there is Lenny, the lizard who hides under a plastic yard storage chest. He's adorable - black stripes and sneaky. My Yorkie, Maxx is happy to share this space with all and doesn't bother any of the little critters. Yeah, life is good ;)

When the sun sets and it's a little cooler I think I'll go over to Home Depot and get a bird feeder and a bird bath. :hug:

[MajorChode]

13. Some birds don't eat bird seed

Some birds eat mainly bugs, especially this time of year, so there's no guarantee your particular house guest will get any benefit from a bird feeder, although many other birds certainly will. A hummingbird feeder is a good thing to put up in the early summer also. Hummingbirds will also come right up to your house as so long as you don't move, you can be right next to them when they are feeding.

[madmax]

14. Humingbird feeder is the way to go

Until I moved here I'd never seen one! We've had quite a few visit the flowers so a feeder to bring more around would be nice. Sometimes I feel like a kid. Now that I'm older I have time to notice the little things. Know what I mean? Raising my son, work, taking care of things - I got lost in being responsible now it's time to stop and look around. I've missed a lot ;)

I did re-think the birdfeeder for the summer. Maybe in the winter.

Found a great idea in a gardening magazine for a bird bath using clay pots and a large clay saucer. Took a few miutes to set up and Voila! Nice! Take out the water, add gravel and some candels in glass votives and it makes an interesting addition at night.

[Inchworm]

4. She may have just been napping

It happens here. If it were me, I'd keep watering hehe. It wouldn't take her long to realize that the rainy season is too long to set up shop :)

:hi:

[madmax]

5. But the nest...

what if she's preggers and ready to pop some eggs? :P I'll water gently around the edges - they deal with rain, right? If I see eggs and/or little beaks I'll stop.

Damn, I work so hard on those baskets, and she's sayng, 'yeah lady, and I worked pretty damn hard on this nest. You think it's easying collecting all these twigs.' :silly:

[Inchworm]

6. You know...

I remembered my reply about 2 hours after I posted and thought.. "der, Madmax said a NEST was found in the basket.. what was I thinking.. bird not sleeping" Too bad I was miles from a computer and couldn't fix it :P

Sounds like it is going to be fun.

:silly:

[madmax]

8. That's ok, maybe she was sleeping

in her nest :P

[Phentex]

15. Birds have killed every porch basket I've tried...

they always nest in them and manage to kill the plant in the meantime. When I tried to water once, a birdie fell out! I can't handle the stress.

Of course, they won't nest in a fake plant.

My husband caught one in a wreath on the door. They just really like the security of a covered porch. *sigh*