Egg on face after bird's nest relocation goes wrong

By Shawn McAvinue

11:28 AM Friday Sep 5, 2014

Contractors were left with egg on their faces yesterday after a botched nest relocation job.

The contractors had been called in by the Dunedin City Council to remove a blackbird's nest and eggs from a Crawford St traffic light, after it was deemed a distraction for motorists.

Council contract manager Peter Hughes said Fulton Hogan was asked to relocate the nest to a nearby tree.

However, as the nest was being removed, it disintegrated and the contractor dropped the eggs, he said.

''The nest wasn't particularly well constructed and it all went west,'' Mr Hughes said.

He was unsure how many eggs were broken but said it was two or three.

When the ODT visited the site yesterday, a juvenile female blackbird was circling above the traffic lights.

Department of Conservation ranger Graeme Loh said relocating a nest was a solution for several bird species, but blackbirds were ''prone to disturbance''. A blackbird nest needed to be moved close to the original nesting location for the mother to find it.

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Three fledglings discovered in car bumper

Three pied wagtail fledglings have had a lucky escape, after being rescued from a car bumper by the RSPCA in Bournemouth.

Car technician Jon Brooks was about to start an oil change on the car, which had been booked in for a service, when he heard chirping and decided to investigate.

To his surprise he found a nest, with three young birds inside, behind the bumper, balancing on part of the car’s under-tray. He carefully transferred the nest into a box, before calling in the RSPCA. 

It proved a lucky chirp for the young nestlings, who were seemingly unscathed despite having travelled under the car for about five miles to the garage!

“We’re very grateful to Mr Brooks and all the staff at the dealership for acting so quickly and carefully to protect these tiny birds," said RSPCA inspector Graham Hammond.

"Thanks to them they have been given the best chance of surviving but you do have to feel a little sorry for the parent birds who would have come back to find not only their nest, but the whole car gone!

“Of course we would usually ask anyone finding fledglings to leave them alone as their parents will return to them, but in this case it would have been impossible to find the exact area that they came from so they will be given the best of care and released when they are ready.”

Source

Courier company’s unusual delivery of ashtray Blue Tits

COURIER staff have enjoyed their own special delivery – after a pair of Blue Tits nested in their ashtray.

Now staff at Eagle Couriers have been banned from using the outdoor cigarette bin while the tiny, protected birds nurse a clutch of eggs.

Delighted staff at Scotland’s biggest independent courier company are now eagerly awaiting the day when the hatchlings fly from their unusual nesting spot.

Jerry Stewart, one of the directors at Eagle Couriers told how smokers a their Bathgate-based HQ were alerted when the tiny birds started darting in and out of the ashtray, which was installed in a brick-built bin storage area so smokers could enjoy some shelter.

He said: “One of our operations team, Richard McIntosh, was the first to see the birds and advised the rest of the smokers to stop using the ashtray while he phoned the RSPB.

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Birds make a home in a Lancashire traffic cone

Last updated Fri 16 May 2014

A family of great tits have made a home in a traffic cone in a Lancashire beauty spot.

Around five chicks were found in the cone and the parent birds were feeding them through the hole in the top of the cone.

Lancashire Wildlife Trust Communciations Officer Alan Wright said:

“It just proves that wildlife is flexible when it comes to making a home and this is a safe place for the chicks if we keep this secret for the time being.

The chicks are almost ready to fly the nest, but this cone keeps them safe from predators like cats and magpies and from too much human disturbance. It proves that wildlife is flexible when it comes to living their lives. Who needs a bird box when you have a handy traffic cone?”

The exact location of the birds is being kept a secret so they're not disturbed.

http://www.itv.com/news/granada/update/2014-05-16/birds-make-a-home-in-a-lancashire-traffic-cone/

Pensthorpe swallows nest in Wensum Land Rover

A pair of swallows have raised four chicks in a nest built in the roof of a Land Rover at a Norfolk nature reserve.

The mud and twig nest was created in the roof of the Pensthorpe Nature Reserve vehicle, used to carry visitors around the 800-acre (324 hectare) site.

Warden Darren Williams, 45, said he felt like a "surrogate father" and was convinced the "hot air" from his tour commentary helped incubate the eggs.

Two chicks fledged on Sunday and now follow the vehicle around the reserve.

The other two chicks remain in the nest at the reserve in the Wensum valley, which hosted the BBC's Springwatch programme for three years.

'Swallow hammock'

Mr Williams said: "Two of them fledged yesterday, but they're still hanging around because as far as the birds are concerned the back of the Land Rover is home.

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Robin makes nest in golf clubs - Cue crap headlines (Bagman & Robin)

RSPB member gives nature a home in an unexpected place

July 2013. RSPB member Jim Nisbet received a surprise when he looked into his old golf bag to find an enterprising robin had built a snug nest for itself amongst the clubs. After discovering the clever hideaway, Jim left it undisturbed and several weeks later the bag became home to a healthy brood of five robin chicks. 

Jim, from Burnside in South Lanarkshire, said: "Over the last few years a robin has visited the garage and nested, but this year the choice of my spare golf bag was a rather unexpected site. (What would he have done if it hadn't been his spare set? - Terrible dilemma. Ed.)

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Dove builds nest in Southend traffic lights

A dove has built its nest in front of the red traffic light at a roundabout in Essex. 

The bird moved into its new home at Cuckoo Corner in Southend, despite the lights having anti-bird spikes fitted. 

The RSPB said the collared dove was facing traffic coming from Priory Crescent and the light would provide heat. 

Frank Varga, RSPB officer, said: "It's happy and using the deterrent to support its nest, so well done." 

The roundabout is also fed by Manor's Way, Victoria Road and Prince Avenue and has 21 traffic lights. 

The RSPB said the collared dove is used to nesting on cliffs 

"This is a perfect area with plenty of grassland including Priory Park nearby as a resource for food," Mr Varga said. 

"From its origins in Turkey the collared dove has colonised the whole of Europe since the 1930s and my guess is she saw this spot and managed to move the spikes slightly to build the nest. 

"In the wild, these birds live on cliffs so it's replacing the noise of all the other birds with the noise of traffic." 

It is thought the dove moved in a fortnight ago.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-22569231

That's one thrush not in a rush! Bird chooses unusual spot to build home... by a red light

Photographer Jason Senior captured the images of the bird in its home

RSPB has said mild weather in recent weeks may have prompted bird to nest early, but cold snap will have given it a shock

Motorists were surprised to see the bird perched on eggs in between the red and amber signals in Leicester city centre

This bird obviously thinks it has been given the green light to start nesting in January, after it chose a city centre traffic light to build its home.

Baffled motorists in Leicester were surprised to see the bird perched on eggs in between the red and amber signals.

Even more aptly it appeared this early bird had used some Christmas wrapping ribbon to help it make its nest.

Photographer Jason Senior, 40, from Leicester, said the bird had chosen a set of traffic lights in Leicester city centre.

He said: 'There were a lot of people standing around looking at this bird, I suppose it thought it had the green light to start nesting so early.

'If you look closely you can see ribbon from what might be Christmas wrapping in with the twigs in the nest

'I was there for about half an hour and the bird seemed pretty happy and oblivious to all the commotion around it.'

Gemma Hogg, from the RSPB, said the bird was likely to be either a mistle or song thrush.

She said: 'Birds make their nests in all sorts of unusual places, and this isn't the first traffic light nest we've seen - in the past we've had birds nesting in, bins, hanging baskets and even an ash tray outside a pub.

'It may seem odd to us, but it's actually quite common. They see a safe, secure and cosy spot to lay eggs and raise chicks and don't care what it looks like or what the neighbours might think.

'This nest might not seem like an obvious choice, but perhaps the warmth from the lights makes it a sensible one.

'It's hard to tell if this bird is a song or mistle thrush without seeing its chest. Both are early breeders and have two to three broods a year.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265449/Given-green-light-nest-Bird-chooses-unusual-spot-build-home--In-city-centre-traffic-light.html#ixzz2IcmYgUz3