Swallow nests

[danni3]

Is it illegal to move nests? I wouldnt care for one or two it's lovely to watch them, but in my block of 5 stables we have at least 18 nests and the swallows are swarming our home, there's at least 60 birds dive bombing my yard lol it's not cute anymore it's awful, my horses are covered in bird poo not to mention the piles under each nest, it's driving us mad!!

Is there anything we can do about it or do we have to just put up with it?

 

[ThePinkPony]

i know most people just knock them down without telling people.

I love our one outside the window, the chicks have hatched now but the poo is cumulating right next to the front door..not so great.

 

[Mrs B]

Is it illegal to move nests? I wouldnt care for one or two it's lovely to watch them, but in my block of 5 stables we have at least 18 nests and the swallows are swarming our home, there's at least 60 birds dive bombing my yard lol it's not cute anymore it's awful, my horses are covered in bird poo not to mention the piles under each nest, it's driving us mad!!

Is there anything we can do about it or do we have to just put up with it?

Please, please don't destroy them! Apart from the fact it is illegal when occupied by eggs or chicks, there are few enough places left for swallows and martins to nest anymore.

We have several nests in our yard and yes, things do get covered in poo, but poo washes off and they're not here for long, and the fact that they ARE here having travelled so far is a minor miracle.

 

[Capriole]

yes i think its illegal to disturb the nests.

pretty much a put up with it for this year situation, then knock the nests down when they leave and make sure they cant build them in your stables next year

 

[touchstone]

It is illegal to interfere with them I'm afraid. Look on the positive side though, at least the fly population will be being kept in check. The droppings make great fertiliser too.

It won't be long before they are gone, and I actually miss them chirruping on in the stables.

 

[ezililaur]

Just think of all those flies and midges they are eating and feeding to their young!!

We have them at our yard and have hardly any flies when it's the breeding season.

I now they're a bit annoying. Please try to put up with them for a while longer. There are less and less places for them to nest each year as it is.

 

[danni3]

Thanks yeah guess we will just have to put up with it. They sound lovely but I have to admit I'll be glad when they have left.. A couple of nests is ok but 18, and that's just what we have counted so there's prob more, is more than enough!! Lol!

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

we have allot too they make mess but we dont mind its only for a short time april to September

we have a GREAT reduction in horse flies flies and wasps when they here

i leave the nest alone and they re use them next year

one thing u can do we done it buy swallow nest and put them up where u dont mind them being might encourage them to nest there not where u dont want them

we have a crech when all babies
fledged looks amazing in sky and perched on fence

allot die on the way over they are caught on the wing and eaten when they fly via china

 

[Tormenta]

Swallows are actually on the decline (as a general population) due to different factors. How someone could knock their nests down without a thought I have no idea, after all they are only generally here for a small part of the year. They have so much to face flying to and from Africa twice a year and I personally don't think a stable yard is a stable yard without their arrival each year. It would be a sad day if they ever disappeared. A friend of mine has two barns and they are FULL of Swallows, I have never heard her complain, she looks for them each Spring. As has already been said they consume many insects and are probably doing your yard a favour! It is, after all, when you look at it, not a huge inconvenience is it?

 

[hairycob]

There's a nest in the old bull pen just above the tap where I soak my hay. I keep the tub out of the way of the falling poo & squat down while I'm filling it. Parent will then fly over my head to feed the young. I love it.

 

[0ldmare]

You are stuck with them for this year, but when they have flown the nest you could remove the nests.

Shame though, I love them. I've got about 6 pairs nesting in my stables and love to watch them. They catch LOADS of flys too which is no bad thing. I know they poop everywhere but hey ho its worth it

Funniest thing was when a big old magpie sauntered onto the yard. The swallows were horrified and came out in formation like little fighter jets. They dive bombed a very ruffled magpie until it lost its nerve and departed. Brave little things

 

[Dobiegirl]

I have to move my car out of the garage every summer due to the swallows nesting in there but I dont mind. We even have a nest on our outside bell in the porch so we dont tend to linger there. Its a small price to pay, we have them every year all round the farm and they are one of my favourite birds. They warn all the resident birds when there is a Sparrow Hawk about and I am always sorry to see them go in late September. They tend to have 2-3 broods a year so dont pull down the nest when the 1st lot fledge.

 

[FairyLights]

Yes , illegal,also cruel. The poor old swallow flies thousands of miles from Africa to the uk to nest and rear their young. I have several nests in my stables,I love watching them. They often rear 2 broods so when the chicks have fledged they may lay again.

 

[EAST KENT]

Hey! Give them a break ..they`ve flown back to that nest in your stable all the way from South Africa. They should be honoured guests in m my opinion

 

[trakehnersrock!]

We have loads too; when they repainted the insides of the boxes two years ago, they had to paint round the nests! They do a great job eating insects, and the babies at ours are tagged cos they're monitoring numbers. we do have less than previous years though, I was told that this was because Europe had some bad storms just at peak travel time

 

[Tnavas]

You are honoured to have Swallows nesting at your place - they are so fascinating, a bit messy, but when you look up and see all those cute little faces peering back at you how can you bear to evict them.

Birds fascinate me how theu can build such an intricate nest with just a beak. The nest is so beautifully made and it sticks to the wall as if glued. We would have to be taught how to make that nest yet they do it from instinct.

They do a great job of keeping flies down. The poo washes off and they don't stay long.

I miss Robins, Blue Tits, Squirrels and Swallows - we have Martins here. Not quite the same though

 

[pintoarabian]

When they come back next year, point them in my direction. I am up to 11 pairs this year and, as far as I am concerned, they can bring their friends with them next time too. I love watching them and they consume all those flies. Besides, a swallow will never poo as much in its lifetime as a horse does in an hour.

 

[millreef]

Count yourselves lucky - they eat the nests here - frikking orrible. I love to see swallows and I'd put up with any amount of poo to hear them.

 

[BigRed]

we have them in the stables, my old horse did not mind, the new horse is frightened of them, and now refuses to go into her box ! I think what has happened, is they have flown in, made her throw her head up, she hits her head on the top of the doorway, now she is convinced the door is bad news and won't og in the stable ! Nightmare !

 

[NOISYGIRL]

We have a few nests along the block of stables I'm in, we do have one in our tea room, right in the centre, if you sit in there really quiet the parents come in a feed the chicks hovering above your head and circling taking it in turns, its funny to watch them flying in and out of their nests in stables, they just fly past the horses heads and ours if we happen to be in the way, they tend to fly in through my door past my horse then through the row of stables inside the roof, they are so cute when the babies are lined up on the corner hay rack for flying lessons, they go from there to the menege fence and back practicing, there is alot of squarking when the cats are about !

 

[flyingfeet]

I think it would be mean to knock the nests down when they are established

I keep 'my' swallows out of out main barn and will remove any attempts at nest building prior to chicks. They have their own stable and are moving on to my wooden cabin which I don't mind

I think we may have to put some shelves up in their stable so they can fit more in!

 

[Aoibhin]

if you have enough head clearance, onion nets work quite well to stop the poo but not the birds.
our old stables are built in nissen huts so roof clearance is very high and all the nests run along the top 2 beams so we cut onion nets into 6" wide strips, sewed the ends together to make long scarves of it & hung it about a foot below the nests. being bright orange the birds can see it, it catches most of the poo & any very young brids that fall out the nest (we have had many over the years be raised in the nets themselves).

they annoy the hell out of me divebombing/pooing over the years but its a lovley sight more than worth the slight interferance to my days & after all who are we to say who may breed & where, they do after all come back to the place they were born to breed & rear their own young (no mean feat for something so small & travelling so far)

 

[Rowreach]

I've seen the numbers of swallows here dwindle over the past few years and it's heartbreaking. I love being divebombed and squeaked to in the early mornings as they sit on the phone wire outside my bedroom window This year they are pooing on a light switch and down the bathroom window of our holiday let - I've had guests complaining about them, but frankly I'd rather have the swallows than them any day

tbh if I knew anyone was knocking down nests after eggs have been laid I would report them. It would be a disgusting thing to do

 

[aimeetb]

I am really sad, I had 6 lovely babies in my stable and every time I walked in I said "hello babies" and they chirped to me but last week they just all died I dont know why Mum was still coming back to feed them but 1 fell out of the nest then another the next day then 3 on 1 night and the other was just dead in the nest so we have to take it down as it was going to decompose in there and mum was still coming back to feed her dead baby! so sad I love them!

 

[connieconvert]

If you like Swallows you will love reading:" A Single Swallow" by Horatio Clare.

I feel privileged when they choose to nest in my tackroom and stables and l admire them even more after reading about their epic journey described in the book.

 

[hayinamanger]

When I see the first Swallows arrive in April, it really lifts my spirits and heralds the arrival of Spring. I am always amazed that they fly so far each year and come back to the same nests, they are incredible. We have a lot swallows nesting and I would be homicidal if I saw someone interfering with the nests

 

[AmyMay]

Is it illegal to move nests?

Yep.

 

[ISHmad]

Absolutely it is illegal to move nests when they have eggs or chicks in them. And why would you anyway. Glad you decided not to OP. Swallows are fabulous to watch, do a great job keeping flies, midges and everything else at bay. I find it really exciting when the first swallow arrives each year and love nothing more than to see them swooping around. Yes the poo in the stables gets annoying, but nothing washing with a bit of disinfectant won't clear.

Just think how horrible it would be not to see them anymore if people did go round knocking their nests down :-(

 

[unicornleather]

Many a time I've been walking into people's stables to see their horse and a swallow has been coming out at the same time, they brush your cheeks with their wing tips!
How many of you have had that happen?
We used to have Swifts in abundance here but they have dwindled in the last few years,only a handful and very rarely hear the screaming, when they do it is high up and not near the houses, it was so nice to hear them screaming as they flew between the houses at speed. We used to have House Martins too, but none left here at all now.
Oz

 

[bellatrix]

I have about 2 nests in each stable this year. I'd never knock their nests down, I'd feel so nasty!
The babies have just started coming out of the nest and they all sit on my stable doors. So cute