Help with nest and chicks .

blinkey 101

Hi folks need some help .i was out cutting my hedge the other day and decovered a nest smack on the top of my hedge .
I left the nest alone and a few mins later two finch type birds arrived.

The thing is I was out in the garden thismorning and out of the blue a kestrel took one of the parents.

it all happened in a flash. the problem is I haven't seen the mother/father since.

the chick were coming on great but now I don't know what to do . Any advice would be much appreciated .

swifts need our help!

Just leave all alone.

Are you sure it was a Kestrel?

Out of interest what was the nest like?

Kess73

Probably not the advice you want to hear, but the best thing you can do is let nature take it's course. If you move the nest then the chance of the remaining parent going to the new nest location would be very very slim indeed, and the young would just die of exposure or through starvation.


If you leave the nest where it is, then there is a better chance that the remaining adult will continue to return to it and continue to feed the chicks, and they will have a lower chance of survival that they had with two parents and good cover, but they will have a chance.

If the exposed nest is spotted by a predator then the chicks will be killed, but at least that will be quicker than moving the nest and letting them starve to death or die from exposure to the elements.



The only other option I would recommend would be to get in touch with your local animal sanctuary or local animal welfare organisation and ask their advice or if they would be capable of looking after the chicks if they were in distress. I think I know the answer you will get, but it never hurts to ask.


The reason I am not recommending that you take the nest indoors or something like that, whilst trying to raise the chicks yourself is because (and I am not even going to go into the legal aspect of it) the chance of successfully raising the chicks would be less than 1% for most folk imho. There are some fantastic stories where a rescued animal reaches adulthood (search this very forum for the amazing and heartwarming tale of Bob the goldfinch) but that rescued animal would in most cases have to remain as a pet of sorts as it would most likely be almost tame and unable to survive too long in the wild if released.

If it is of any solace I have seen a number of nests that were left exposed after a hedge or bush was cut over the years, and have seen a lot of birds succeed in raising their broods despite the exposed nests. Last year I saw a blackbird's nest get pretty much completly exposed and the female kept going back to it with food and eventually two of the three chicks in it grew enough to be able to leave the nest.

WildIreland

This is probably too late to help in this instance, but hopefully the sound advice from @Kess73 paid off.

For future reference the best source of advice and info for wildlife rescue and rehabilitation that I've seen (including a list of wildlife rehabilitation / rescue contacts from around the country) is the excellent Irish Wildlife Matters website.

Definitely one worth bookmarking for future reference.