Need Advice on Bird's Nest Relocation

[NJCher]

My brother wrote this to me this morning:

Yesterday I was raking up small limb and needle debris from around the tree stump in the front yard. A robin chirped at me, or so I thought. When I heard the second chirp I realized it was the robin's ground nest a few feet from my feet.

At that time I decided to quit for the day and leave the Robin to its nest.

The next day I noticed thatch over the nest and decided to put the camera 2-3 feet away so that I could watch it. To my horror I viewed porch cat hovering his nose over the nest site! Jumped up out of the chair (scaring housecat) and dashed out to the nest yelling at porch cat to get away.

He ran north along the west side of the house and I caught up with him by the clothesline. Lured him into the garage (enticement) with food.


Just so you understand the situation, there is a house cat (never goes outside) and Porch Cat, who was a stray my brother took in over the winter. The porch he refers to is really an enclosed breezeway, and Porch Cat stayed there or in the warm basement over the winter so he would not get in fights with House Cat. Now "Porch" Cat wants to be out and around, so how are we to keep the robin's nest safe? Obviously the mother was doing what she could with the thatching over the nest.

[NJCher]

1. update

Here's the latest. My brother wrote this a few minutes ago:

If I relocate the nest, the Robin will lose track of it. I have this roll of wire panel in the back yard. It has open rectangles of about 2"X5". Porch cat could not get through that. He could push it over.


Maybe my brother could stake the wire panel so it can't be tipped over?

[2naSalit]

2. Not much you can do...

Other than put some king of cage over it so the mother can come and go and keeping predators away.

If it was a rare species, I'd be concerned but it will likely be a clutch that fails due to poor choice of nesting place. It happens... and I know the stats on house cats/domestic cats killing birds.

I think this is a situation you can't really resolve. If you try to move the nest the young will die so you may need to abandon your desire the save them.

[Nittersing]

3. Maybe?

At this link ( https://birdwatchingbuzz.com/can-you-move-a-birds-nest/ ) they offer this advice:


Moving the nest
If you must move the nest, do so with caution. One big concern about moving a nest with eggs or hatchlings, is making sure the parents know where the nest is. If they cannot find it, they may abandon their young.

Before you do anything, find a suitable place to relocate it too. If you can, find a similar environment, but always put the nest in a safe and secure location. It will need to be sheltered and out of the way of any predators.
Place it close to where it originally was, but in a safe place with plenty of shelter. It needs to be close enough so that when the parents return, they will be able to hear their babies and find them. If you move the nest too far, the babies may not be found.
If the nest is undamaged, move it whole. It’s best to simply move the nest as any damage you may cause may make the parents think there is a potential threat, and they may abandon the nest.
Try not to handle the babies if you can. Some people say that their parents will smell you on them and so abandon the chicks, but this isn’t true. You can safely handle them, but do remember they may be frightened. Move them as quickly as you can.
One thing to be aware of, is the parents. If you try to move the nest while they are there, they may attack you. They could view you as a threat or a predator and they will fight to protect their babies.

[NJCher]

4. thanks!

I'm sending everyone's thoughts on this thread to my brother.

However, I think he's building a temporary fence around the area so the cat can't get in. He's very high tech, so I imagine he'll leave his camera monitor on. He'll probably add additional brush around the fence to disguise the nest.

Thanks again for your thoughtful response.