If you’ve spotted a bird’s nest somewhere inconvenient on your property, whether you can do anything about it depends on the bird, the location and exactly what stage the nest is at.
Nesting season is when that question comes up most.
A straightforward garden job or a routine roof repair can turn into a wildlife offence if nobody checks for a nest first.
When bird nesting season runs – Guide by bird control professionals
Nesting season in the UK typically runs from March to August, though it isn’t a fixed date on a calendar.
Some birds start scouting nest sites as early as February, and a handful of species raise a second or even third brood, which pushes their nesting activity into September.
Wood pigeons are a good example of how blurry the edges really are.
They’ll nest almost any month of the year if conditions suit them, so a pigeon nest found in November isn’t unheard of.
Most garden and urban birds, though, follow the broad March to August pattern closely.
What the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 actually protects
Every wild bird in the UK is protected under Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, along with its nest while that nest is in use or being built, and its eggs and chicks.
Intentionally killing, injuring or taking a wild bird is an offence. So is intentionally taking, damaging or destroying an active nest.
An old, abandoned nest from last year isn’t protected once the birds have gone, but a nest with eggs in it, or one a pair is still actively building, absolutely is.
Disturbing it deliberately at that stage is a wildlife crime.
If you’re not certain whether a nest is active, treat it as active until you know otherwise.
This law is in place to protect our many native species of endangered birds from harm.
Hedges, trees and gardens during nesting season
Hedgerows, shrubs and garden trees are where a huge number of garden birds choose to build, tucking a nest of twigs and moss deep enough into the growth to stay hidden from most predators.
Checking before you cut
If you’re planning to cut back a hedge or fell a tree between March and August, check carefully for nests first rather than assuming there’s nothing there.
A few minutes watching for birds carrying nesting material in and out of the greenery tells you far more than a quick glance.
Gardens across Edinburgh and the Lothians offer nesting habitat, and a five-minute check before cutting costs nothing.
What nests are made from
Birds build their nests from whatever nesting materials the surrounding vegetation offers.
Moss, twigs, dried grass, even shed feathers and bits of wool caught on a fence.
The law protects the nest of any wild bird species, so it isn’t only the more obviously loved garden favourites, blackbirds and robins, that are protected.
A nest and the eggs inside it are protected by law for as long as they’re in use.
Unlike birds that nest in hedges or trees, a few species build nests directly on the ground, and their nesting period is just as vulnerable to disturbance from foot traffic or garden work.
Pest birds on Edinburgh buildings: what’s possible
Gulls, pigeons and starlings on the roof
Our work differs from a gardener’s or a tree surgeon’s because of the building itself.
Pigeons, gulls and starlings nest on roofs, in chimneys, behind signage and inside extraction vents right across Edinburgh, from tenement roofs in the Old Town to flat commercial roofs in Leith and Portobello, and nesting season doesn’t pause any of that activity.
Gulls in particular cause problems on Edinburgh roofs through spring and summer, since a nesting pair defends the area around it aggressively, swooping at anyone who gets close and becoming an issue for staff needing roof access or customers walking past an entrance underneath.
Why buildings attract nesting activity
A roof, chimney or vent makes an ideal nesting site because it’s hard to reach and rarely disturbed.
Disturbing nesting birds on a building carries the same legal risk as disturbing them anywhere else.
A proper assessment before any work starts avoids harming birds during nesting season, since a nest tucked into a vent or behind signage isn’t always visible from ground level.
Deliberately disturbing an active nest outside any licensed process is an offence, and reporting it is a matter for a wildlife crime officer.
Members of the public can report concerns like this to Police Scotland, though for pest species on your own property, a qualified specialist is the faster and more useful first call.
What the general licence allows
NatureScot issues general licences allowing certain pest bird management, including nest and egg management for reasons such as public health, food hygiene or preventing serious property damage, even while the Act’s core protections remain in force.
What’s permitted depends on the species, the reason, and whether the situation meets the licence conditions.
A BPCA-accredited technician knows which licence applies and how to act on it properly.
If pigeons or gulls are already a recurring problem on your building, we provide proofing methods that are used once a nest situation is resolved to prevent bird species to nest again.
Bats are not birds, and many are at risk of extinction and endangerment in the UK.
Should you be facing a bat problem rather than a bird, contact Bat Conservation Trust for guidance instead.
How long birds stay in the nest
Most small garden birds fledge fast.
A blue tit chick, for instance, is typically ready to leave the nest within around three weeks of hatching, and many songbirds follow a broadly similar timeline.
Gulls and pigeons take longer, with chicks staying in or around the nest for five to seven weeks before they’re capable of sustained flight.
Pigeons also have a homing instinct, which means once they have taken up a nest, they will keep returning until moved away.
That gap matters if you’re weighing up whether to wait out a nest rather than deal with it. A small garden bird’s nest might clear itself within a month.
A gull nest on a commercial roof, with an aggressive adult defending it the whole time, is a much longer problem to simply wait through.
Many birds raise their young twice in a single season if conditions allow, so you might see birds carrying nesting material again in June, even after an earlier brood has already fledged.
When is bird nesting season: your questions answered
What month can you remove a bird’s nest?
An empty, disused nest can be removed at any time of year. An active nest, one with eggs or that’s still being built, can’t be removed at any point during the season unless a specific general licence exception applies. Outside nesting season, once you’re confident it’s empty, removal is straightforward.
Is it illegal to cut hedges or trim ivy during nesting season?
It isn’t automatically illegal, but if the work disturbs or destroys an active nest, that’s an offence regardless of when in the year it happens. The safest approach is checking for nests before cutting anything back between March and August.
What should I do if I find an active nest somewhere inconvenient?
Leave it alone and get advice before doing anything else. Most nests are only occupied for a few weeks, and waiting it out is often the simplest legal option. Where that’s not workable, particularly for pest species on a building, call us and we’ll tell you what’s actually possible under licence.
How long do birds stay in the nest before fledging?
It varies by species. Small garden birds are typically gone within three to four weeks of hatching. Gulls and pigeons take considerably longer, often five to seven weeks before the chicks can fly properly and leave on their own.
Can pest bird nests be removed during nesting season?
Sometimes, under a NatureScot general licence covering specific purposes like public health or property damage prevention, but not as a default. A BPCA-accredited technician checks every situation against the licence conditions before recommending anything.
If you need bird control advice, contact our local Edinburgh team today
If you’ve found a bird’s nest somewhere inconvenient, or gulls and pigeons are already nesting on your Edinburgh property, call us on 0131 322 1291 or get in touch through our contact page.
We’ll tell you honestly what can be done, and when.
