Expert: Roger Lederer - 4/16/2009

Question
I have a robin who insists on making her nest in the curve of the gutter right outside my back door. This is the third year in a row, I don't know if this is the same bird or not. The first year she laid 2 eggs and abandoned them; the second year my husband tore the nest down; this year she's right back again. I told him to leave it be but we can not stop using the back door as we have a 6 yr old and dogs that need into the back yard and even if we went out the front we would have to pass her. We try to ignore her but I don't want to cause her to abandon her nest again, any ideas?

Answer
Probably is the same bird. You simply need to block access to the site so she doesn't nest there. By the way, it may seem silly, but it is for a good reason that it is against federal law to harm or harass birds, their nests, or eggs. Thanks for your concern.