What to Do When Birds Nest in Your Back Porch???

I have a bird nest in the gutter over my bedroom window and just don't have the heart to take it out when there are eggs or babies in there. The little baby bird are so sweet! These birds aren't scaring my kids, so I don't have that to worry about. That's a tough one!
Whenever you are at a point where you need the bird to go away, my Dad told me an old trick that sounds silly, but they say it works. Get a realistic looking rubber snake and put it somewhere close to the nest. The bird can't tell if it is real or not and will take it as a threat and stay away. Then you can safely remove the nest and the bird will make a new one somewhere away from the "snake".
Good luck!

I, too, like to live and let live! :-)
Explain to the kids to leave the nest alone and make a beeline to the yard. The bird won't hurt the kids. Once the eggs hatch & the babies leave, take down the nest (the kids will be interested in seeing it up close) and hang up some aluminum pie pans and that will discourage her from re-building next time!

Sounds like a barn swallow. They do the dive-bombing thing to protect their young. They are beautiful birds and the babies are adorable. I doubt they'd hurt your kids at all (or any bird for that matter). They're more afraid of the kids -- they're bigger than they are! They're just trying to protect their nest. Can you leave it all alone for just a few weeks until the babies hatch and then fall out and fly away? It might even be fun to watch. THEN get rid of the nest. Birds hatch and mature and fly away pretty quickly. I would think just a few weeks and you'd be done with the whole situation.
And FYI, birds have no sense of smell, so you can touch baby birds and move them safely when they're on the ground near you and the parents will still take care of them. But moving the nest would confuse the parents and they'd just move on and the babies would die if you tried that.

I would call animal control or a pest-type service and see what they recommend, or if it is even possible to relocate the birds? We put fans up on our covered patio and learned that when birds start to come into it, and poop on our chairs/table/etc., that if we turn the fans on low, they didn't come in there anymore. I know that the fans won't help now, but maybe for the future?

I would wait to remove the nest until the babies can fly away. If you touch the babies or the nest many animals will smell the human and no longer tend to the chicks, plus if you relocate them she may have trouble finding them or knowing them as hers since they would smell like you. I would have my kids go out the front and around to the play set until the birds grow, and once they can fly take down the next and put a rubber snake on the roof to discourage her from choosing that spot again.

She's protecting her babies. Is there another way to the backyard you could use until they hatch and fly away? We would have the same problem at our front door. As soon as they fly away take down the nest and then keep an eye out for the beginnings of a new nest. Ours came back 3 times in one year and they had the nest built and were in it before we realized it. If you catch them in the act they will get frustrated and build somewhere else. Good luck.

Toy snake will work everytime :)

Just so you know... In the state of Texas, it is illegal to interfere or otherwise harm a wild bird nest that is in use. Basically you have to wait until the babies/parents vacate...

Here's a link to the statute:

http://books.google.com/books?id=RPQxAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA22...

I know, it isn't the kid-friendly answer... But wild bird populations are in decline and really, its only a short period of time. Maybe they can access the backyard through the side gate and avoid the porch? Plus, what a great learning opportunity for your kids! Hopefully, the mama doesn't push any babies out... She will if she thinks she needs to abandon the nest. I think its hard on kids when they see the dead babies on the ground. (We had a nest on our front porch... It was a hassle and the everyday bird poop on the step was gross, but they did keep the bug population down that summer!)

This happened to me this year. By the time I thought to implement a plan, the babies popped out and flied around on their own. It won't be long and they will be gone!

We have birds nesting on our porch as well (they come back every year) and the snake did not work. We've been told to try an owl, we just didn't get it out in time this year but thought I'd share. But my girls do love to watch the next and see the birds hatch, and the birds have never tried to harm the kids. I bet yours will be fine. Good luck!

It depends on the bird. Some are very territorial and will peck and pull hair/fur out of anything that comes near the nest. I've seen black birds and meadow larks attacking hawks (little birds dive-bombing big bird) in mid flight, and some will strafe cats, dogs and people if they come near the nesting area. Robins and sparrows are usually pretty timid. I don't know about barn swallows. If you can identify the bird, look up gestation time (how long it takes eggs to hatch) and fledge time (how long it takes before babies fly). You could be in for a 4-6 week adventure. You might want to have your kids wear hats or jackets with hoods if the birds are aggressive. Once they are out of the nest, get rid of it and hang up a wind sock or flashy wind chimes to discourage future nest builders. Some people will put a plastic owl on their porch and move it around every so often. That will discourage them too.