Starlings Nest

Lambchops65

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Hi guys :)

I have starlings nesting in my attic/air vent in my bedroom. As you can imagine for the last c. 4 weeks the constant incessant chirping has been driving me insane. It also means I now get up at 4am as the noise is so loud That said, they are little babies so I had no intention of going up into the attic until the chirping stopped & they’ve fledged.
Now, I’m not sure if I’m in luck but the chirping just stopped dead this evening so I’m guessing they’ve left? I’ll know more at 4am anyway, let’s say they’ve left. How soon do I need to get up (or get my friends poor hubby) to go up remove the nest?
if they’ve left are they gone for a while or likely to come back?
I’ve been watching the mum & I can see the approx area she’s getting in on the roof and I think it may be a small hole under a roof tile. Any idea how I’d close this up bearing in mind Covid 19 & feck all places open.

thanks for your help
 
We have them too but thankfully they are in the roof of the porch and don't keep us awake and we find it quiet nice listening to them (I'm sure I wouldn't be saying that if they woke me at 4am every morning!) . Going by our ones, you'll still be a bit out before the chicks are ready to fly away. But they will leave and won't come back until next year, so you have plenty of time to find the hole and block it up. The easiest thing to do is mix a bit of cement and fill in the hole.

Actually this year, we had a problem with the crows trying to get at the nest. We ended putting some chicken wire along the porch to make it more difficult for the crows to get in and having to hang CDs (remember those kids ;)) as the crows don't like the reflection off them!
 
Also they will come back. We have a pair that come back every year without fail.

But they only rear 1 set of chicks, which don't come back to the nest once they leave it.

So as SBarrett says, you've plenty of time once they leave.
 
Same here, I actually look forward to their arrival and sad to see them fly off after several weeks.
 
Our neighbour has a returned starling's nest this year despite getting a roof repair guy out last year to block up the entrance to the nest in the eaves of the house when they had departed. So not so easy to get rid of. Much as I love the birds and its a sad thing to have to do but I don't think I would be able for a 4 a.m. alarm call.

Neighbour the other side has a jackdaw's nest each year in his attic. They can be quite nasty if they see any humans around the gardens and have swooped down on a number of occasions.
 
Neighbour the other side has a jackdaw's nest each year in his attic. They can be quite nasty if they see any humans around the gardens and have swooped down on a number of occasions.

I got attacked by a buzzard last week whilst jogging. Swooped down and hit me on the back of the head. Didn't even see it, just got smacked on the back of the head, it felt like getting hit with a brick!

Starlings are much nicer :)

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I got attacked by a buzzard last week whilst jogging. Swooped down and hit me on the back of the head. Didn't even see it, just got smacked on the back of the head, it felt like getting hit with a brick!

Starlings are much nicer :)

Oh, that's a nasty looking injury, obviously some birds can be quite vicious so :(

I did often wonder how nasty the jackdaw's might be if push comes to shove. When they are teaching the young how to fly and are on the ground they make an awful lot of noise and if the closest neighbours try to come out to their garden the birds constantly swoop at them. I would definitely be afraid of them.
 
Oh, that's a nasty looking injury, obviously some birds can be quite vicious so :(

I did often wonder how nasty the jackdaw's might be if push comes to shove. When they are teaching the young how to fly and are on the ground they make an awful lot of noise and if the closest neighbours try to come out to their garden the birds constantly swoop at them. I would definitely be afraid of them.

It was protecting its young. Bit of a bang and a shock but was grand.
 
That head wound looks nasty.
Well they must of been napping coz there was no noise & at midnight it sounded like there was a bear jumping around in the attic! I jumped up outta the bed & slept on the couch! The fear! Slept until 5am when I head the loudest ever squawking I ran upstairs thinking they had pushed through the vent into the bedroom but nope. Went outside & there were 4 crows and I think they were trying to get at the chicks & it all kicked off!
That’s great that when the fledge they don’t come back until the following year! I wasn’t sure. I’ll have plenty of time to get the ladder & cement!
Don’t get me wrong I adore the sound of birds but when they are in your ear hole 24/7 it’s unbearable. Another few weeks of it?
 
Another thing to look out for if you have birds nesting in the eaves of your house. The birds most likely have access to your attic where they can enter for whatever reason. They can fly around the attic and sometimes are unable to exit. They can die there or as a result of contact with the woodwork there while flying can cause death for them.

Check your attic water tank and attic to ensure there are no dead birds there.
 
I might be wrong, but I think you aren't supposed to remove the nest once they are built & have birds in them. Usually September before the birds depart completely. We had 4 eaves on our old house, and 4 nests every year. They're great to look at but the bird poop isn't!
 
I might be wrong, but I think you aren't supposed to remove the nest once they are built & have birds in them. Usually September before the birds depart completely. We had 4 eaves on our old house, and 4 nests every year. They're great to look at but the bird poop isn't!

Yes nest not to be touched and
 
You need to get bird combs installed. They are cheap And you can buy them on screwfix for €20. The problem is the installation as you may need to get a roofer to install them but if you are anyway handy and not afraid of heights you should be able to do it yourself.
 
September !!!! :oops: I was hoping for end May? The noise is unbearable at this stage. They are now all beginning to flap their wings lol so the constant flapping against the air vent has me freaked that they will knock it out of the wall and come into the bedroom:oops:
I'm laughing at the thoughts of going up into the attic! I've never been up there and would be terrified to even peek up there now haha. Maybe if I had a stairs and could make a quick exit I would be more inclined:D.
My friends hubby has said he will go up and remove the nest once they've left. They had one last year and removed it immediately but I couldn't do that if there were birds in it. As much as they are driving me insane, I couldn't make them homeless:(. So it is looking like I'll seek out a roofer after he's removed the nest and get him to put those bird combs up. Thanks guys
 
September !!!! :oops: I was hoping for end May? The noise is unbearable at this stage. They are now all beginning to flap their wings lol so the constant flapping against the air vent has me freaked that they will knock it out of the wall and come into the bedroom:oops:
I'm laughing at the thoughts of going up into the attic! I've never been up there and would be terrified to even peek up there now haha. Maybe if I had a stairs and could make a quick exit I would be more inclined:D.
My friends hubby has said he will go up and remove the nest once they've left. They had one last year and removed it immediately but I couldn't do that if there were birds in it. As much as they are driving me insane, I couldn't make them homeless:(. So it is looking like I'll seek out a roofer after he's removed the nest and get him to put those bird combs up. Thanks guys

It'll be covered in droppings!!
 
Deal with it sooner rather than later. Can cause significant damage to the exterior of your house and you may also need to repaint due to bird excrement.
 
Thanks Hansen - the only damage they seem to be doing is to my poor car ! and God knows what the inside of the attic is like (dread to think). I've a red brick house so it seems to be escaping (apart from the windows)
 
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