When is it safe to remove mud nests from the front of my house

Hi,

I have some mud nests (2 of them) attached to the front of my house, I'm not sure what sort of birds are nesting - maybe swallows ?

Anyhow the droppings are making one heck of a mess, I don't want to disturb the nest or look at them until I'm sure the birds have finished nesting.

Is there a definite time of year I would be safe to remove the nests or is it possible for some official to visit and confirm the birds have gone ?

Thanks for any help.

I suspect these nests belong to House martins. If these nests are still in use, then certainly from the birds point of view and indeed your own (as they are fully protected by law whilst in use) I would recommend leaving the nests well alone for the time being. House martins are summer migrants, so they will be leaving our shores soon - September/October time. Once the nests have gone quiet and you can no longer see any activity up there, then it is safe to say that the young from the last brood will have fledged and will be getting ready to join their parents for the migration back to Africa. I would certainly suggest that by late September most House martins young would have fledged, so you could check then with a view to removing the nests if you want to.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply, that's very informative and useful. I think what I'll do is wait until late September, clear up the droppings, wait a week or so and see if there's any more droppings, if not then I guess it would be safe to remove the nest.

A shelf about 25cm wide fixed about 2m below the nest will catch the droppings if they cause a problem. Something to consider for next year, if it looks like the birds might return.

WHOOAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

House Martins  can be multiple broodedand  regularly nest / use nests for roosts into October in east and Southern England.

I personally wouldnt remove them until 1st November to be safe- especially if it's a mild autumn.

I have seen them feeding young at the nest to October 15th in Norfolk .

S