Expert: Julia Booth - 6/1/2008

Question
I have a second nest on my porch with no surface other than under the nest, with five eggs.  Last time, they had four babies who fell out of the nest several times - I put them back in and all flew away.  My concern is they'll fall out again and we're going on vacation July 4th weekend - I will have someone come twice a day...but, should I try to build some ledge to keep them up there (if I even can do so)?  Thanks for any help.

-Kristy Kennedy

Answer
I know this sounds harsh, but the birds know what they are doing. If they build a nest and it fails, that's the way it was meant to be. If we prevented every baby bird from dying, then there would be no reason for them to have 2-3 clutches a season.

You can build something there to protect them, if you want. But you'd be surprised how well they can fare on their own -without human intervention.