I have birds of some sort in my soffet board on the eve of upstairs dormer house no attic.,

Mckenna Aileen

I don't hear them during the day so is it safe to block the hole up now ,this is November the 11

HazeDoll

Are they doing damage? Or is there another reason you object to their presence?

Eoinbmw

Starlings?

HazeDoll

There will come a time, much sooner than any of us think, when we will wonder why we ever took steps to eliminate wildlife from our houses. A bit like the way we now look at the people who knowingly hunted species to extinction, competing for the honour of being the one to kill the last living specimen.

They're small birds. They're harmless. They reduce the numbers of annoying insects around your house. Maybe consider adapting your thinking to appreciate their presence. Their habitat is dwindling all the time. They are doing their best to survive in an increasingly inhospitable landscape. Do your bit to help them.

I don't know if you're referring to insulation or a home ventilation system when you say they don't breathe during the winter. It would be easy enough to get somebody out to see if the birds are causing a difficulty there.

niallpatrick

If OP meant breed not breathe, starlings as far as I'm aware have 2 clutches of eggs per breeding season and may also have fake nests to keep predatory birds away more than likely magpies. This is from personal observation so not bone-fide knowledge. OP can rule out swallows too late in the year for them same for house martens.

By all means block the hole up and remove any bird debris but keep it quiet, if OP rents it's the landlord/owners remit to sort it. I have starlings roost in our end facia and soffit and they don't annoy me, the only real problem they cause is bird feeders. They make a mess and do their best to make sure other birds don't get a fair share.

Mckenna Aileen

It just very annoying noise every morning and the hole is quite karge on soffet board so it really needs to be repaired and I want to do it without harming the birds. As you know rats could get into this hole to and I need to sort this out .

Mckenna Aileen

Basically I'm looking for advice as to when is best time to repair this hole on soffet

Mckenna Aileen

Most likely starlings ,I hear them early every morning and after about 9 am all goes quiet ,so I presume they come out.Do they stay out during the day so I can block up the hole as they don't breathe this time of year to my knowledge

endacl

True. Starlings hold their breath during the winter months.

Markcheese

You definitely want to get in before spring , dont starlings usually come together to roost at this time of year ?

Have you seen ( or heard ) them going in and out recently?

Mckenna Aileen

Yes ,I heard them this morning and every morning this past while

Dial Hard

They are very noisy alright. I think you'll just have to watch the hole for a few hours one day and be ready to move once you know for sure they're both out. We had the same issue and the guy sealing the gap managed to seal one of them in there. Had to cut a hole in the attic roof lining and leave the hatch and landing window open for a few hours to get him out.

Mckenna Aileen

Thanks 👍

HazeDoll

What do you think is going to happen to those birds?

When they arrive back to find they can't access shelter for the night, what will happen?

Most likely they will exhaust themselves trying to find a way in, then they will die of exposure during the night.

Musefan

Hi, I would encourage you to make sure you also rule out bats. We had bats overwinter in our soffits and it usually resulted in some noise in the early morning until the weather got really cold. You can tell if they're bats by a high pitched chirping sound, and there will be small droppings below the hole that look like little black grains of rice- these will turn to dust if you run your shoe over them.

HazeDoll

Bats' roosting sites are legally protected all year round.

OpenYourEyes

First of all make sure it's birds. If it is birds, they should be gone pretty promptly after sunrise.

Rodent will make noise during dark hours and largely quiet during the day.

I'm not sure about bats, but do make sure that there definitely aren't bats there before taking action!

IF it's birds, wait until the middle of the day to block it up. They're just using it as a roost, so you'll inconvenience them, but they'll find something else. It's better to do it now than later in the winter, or spring/summer.

It shouldn't be Starlings - possibly Tits or Sparrows?

Unidentified user

Put a flap over the entry point, leave it so they can get out but not back in.

Sunjava

Get pest control out if you're unable to find the access point. They'll be able to advise.