Whether you’re trying to get rid of a bird’s nest in your yard, or whether you’re trying to figure out if you should rescue baby birds from a nest, you need to know if the nest has been abandoned or if the mother will be back.
This article looks at how to tell if a mother bird has abandoned her nest
You can tell if a mother bird has abandoned her nest by keeping an eye on the nest, if the mother does not come back to the nest for a long time, if the nest is filled with leaves or debris, and if the nest is barren, then the nest is likely abandoned.
Table of Contents
How to tell if a mother bird has abandoned her nest:
The mother is missing in action:
If you have the time, keep an eye on the nest to see if the mother comes back to her eggs or hatchlings, doing this can help you figure out if the mother bird has abandoned her nest.
If the mother bird hasn’t returned to the nest in a few hours, then she likely won’t be back. Birds will usually find food a few hours into looking for food, they will fly right back once the food is found.
Baby birds need to be fed every 3-4 hours and eggs cannot survive more than a few hours without their mothers incubating them, this is why birds rush back
If the mother doesn’t come back, then she has abandoned her nest
Cold eggs:
If you don’t have the time to wait to see if the mother bird comes back, you can touch the eggs to feel their temperature. Eggs that have been abandoned for a long while will be cold.
Mother birds sit on their eggs as the eggs develop, this keeps them warm, and alive. If the mother has been gone for a long time, because she abandoned the nest, then the eggs will become cold.
If there are no eggs or chicks:
Nests are used to raise baby chicks, these baby animals stay in the nests until they can fly out of the nest for good. Once the chicks have grown up and have left the nest, the parent birds will abandon the nest.
There will also be no eggs in the nest if the clutch has hatched, grown into adults, and flown away
If the nest is a mess:
Birds prefer to keep their nest clean (they even eat their babies poop as a way of cleaning, read more here) they avoid clutter and remove leaves and debris from the nest.
If the nest is full of dead leaves, then you can assume that the nest has been abandoned. Dead leaves will not be left to accumulate in active nests.
Breeding season is over:
Some birds will only build nests during the breeding season and will not live in nests for the rest of the year. Once baby birds grow up, and leave the nest, the nest will be left for a long period of time with no birds using them.
If you know what type of bird built the nest, and know that their nesting season is over, then the birds have likely abandoned their nest
FAQ:
Do mother birds abandon their babies?
Mother birds will abandon their babies but they will only do this with good reason. Sometimes, the reason why a mother bird will abandon her baby birds is that the mother bird has been injured, or killed by a predator.
Do mother birds reject their babies if you touch them?
No, the mother bird will not abandon her baby birds if you touch them, this is an old wives’ tale.
The idea behind this is that if you touch her eggs or babies, the mother bird will smell the human scent on her eggs and then abandon them, this is not true.
Mother birds, and birds in general, can’t smell that well and won’t pick up the scent of humans on their baby birds.
Do mother birds remove dead babies from nest?
If a baby bird dies in the nest then yes a mother bird will remove that baby bird from the nest.
This instinct keeps the nest healthy and prevents the spread of disease. It’s also a way to prevent predators from becoming attracted to the nest.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, birds are quite attentive mothers, it is unnatural for them to abandon their nest and their babies for no reason. Mother birds will only do this if it makes sense or if they have no other choice.
You can tell if the nest has been abandoned if the eggs are cold, if it’s past the bird’s breeding season, if the nest is filled with leaves, if it’s been a while since you saw the mother, and if there are no eggs or chicks in the nest.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: What To Do When One Lovebird Dies, Chicken With One Droopy Wing, Sugar Water For Sick Chickens, Chicken Laying On Side,