What Happens If You Touch a Nest?
The short answer is that it isn’t a problem to touch a nest if that is all you are doing. If you are cleaning out the eaves of your home, for example, and happen across a nest, you haven’t done any harm. The adults won’t simply abandon their young just because they can detect that a human has been in the same area. That being said, you should never touch a nest if you can avoid it. Although baby birds are very cute, disturbing their homes is unkind and potentially dangerous to you and to the animals. The adult may feel threatened and attack you. Additionally, the droppings from the young and nest materials can be breeding grounds for parasites and bacteria that could make you sick. If you are concerned about a nest, get professional help.
What If You Move It?
This is where the story gets a little more complex. The adults will not abandon a nest simply because it has been touched; however, they are unlikely to relocate. If you move the nest, the adult bird may move on. This is especially likely if the bird can’t find the nest again. In the wild, nests get attacked by predators and disturbed all the time. So, birds are not likely to relocate to the nest's new site if you move it. If there are babies or eggs in the nest, leave it alone and call for professional help. Of course, we understand that sometimes a nest will be in a place you simply can’t tolerate. For example, we are often called to deal with nests in dryer or stovetop vent pipes that cause fire and health hazards to the homeowners. We solve these issues by moving the nest just outside the pipe, right next to its entrance. By doing this, we ensured that the mother is able to easily find the nest again.
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