Looked up today and spotted a nest at the top of one of my larger semi-dwarf apples. There was a 'robin size' black colored bird sitting in it, but I did not approach closely to verify the species. I'm sure the nest is rather new, say within the last two weeks, or so. Question is should I try moving the nest, or just let it be? The tree is a Hudson Golden Gem with apples that should be ready for picking in September. I will have to go in there at that time to pick the apples. If I chase away the mother bird now, and move the nest to some other high place like the top of my shed, will she find the nest again and not desert it?
The first thing you need to do is identify the kind of bird you're dealing with. Some fairly common types of birds are Federally protected, and doing anything to disturb them may not be an option unless you like committing felonies.
The one problem you might have is if you have to spray with something poisonous you may kill the brood. When picking fruits as a summer job, I'd find dead birds in nests all the time. If you have not yet thinned the apples, you might consider thinning so that you don't have to spray around the nest. As a home grower, your spraying equipment is very precise compared to commercial equipment.
Fat chance of doing that. All I can see from the ground is a head sticking up above the nest. Putting a ladder nearby could frighten the bird and possibly cause the nest to come tumbling down. I have an active bird feeder and have not seen any exotic or federally protected birds, but you never know. I assume the bird I see is a female, and I never see it moving from it's position. If there is an accompanying male, I have never seen it. Since it has to feed, maybe I will get lucky and see it out of the nest.
Yup Freckles is right, leave it alone,!!!! They'll be LONG gone by the time you need to get in there. Robins, and many others, usually hatch around now, and once I raised a baby robin, tossed out from nest for encephalitis, as per vet. Fixed it up with steroids and antibiotics and it took me 6 weeks to feed, teach it to fly and find it's own worms. My GR Rudy dog helped it dig for worms for weeks, hadda stop that! Had teeny holes everywhere. The Robin finally got back with the 'clan' and they migrated. Saw him again the following years! HE always flew down to my finger and visited! For the next four years that I lived in that area. They live to be about 17 or so I think, maybe a bit less, so I'm sure he's still there. They do return to the same tree/area that they were hatched. :) Was lots of fun, but I'm liscensed to do so, you can get in trouble for just about ALL wild birds, don't have to be songbirds nor endangered, merely a wild bird. It takes a LOT of time and commitment to 'adopt' a baby. Was a lot of work, had to give up a lot of my time and life to that little guy, was worth it in the end, watching him fly away with his 'clan'. (Can't say it was his direct family as they had pushed him out for the disease.)
Whatever you do, NEVER ever, ever feed a baby bird bread soaked in milk!!! This will kill them. I keep 'baby bird food mix' handy at all times, and keep freshening up with a new bag every once in awhile. Just in case. Even the baby robin needed that before he could eat worms, as his mother would normally munch them up for him, and I just wasn't that close. :)
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