Birds nesting in harm’s way, or in your way? Here’s some tips.

Warming temperatures means birds will be looking for places to nest, lay eggs, and raise their young. Some of the places they choose may not be good, for birds or humans. So what can you do? In Maine it is illegal to take, possess, or needlessly destroy the nest or eggs of a wild bird, except for a handful of birds that are considered nonnative species. The federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 prohibits moving or destroying a nest with eggs or chicks in it without a federal permit. Further, adult birds will usually abandon a nest, and the eggs or babies in it, if it’s moved even a short distance. A strip of aluminum foil tacked up nearby usually dissuades birds from persisting in a spot. Make another part of your property more desirable to the birds. If prevention doesn’t work and birds have moved in, have patience with your new feathered friends, and try to enjoy watching the birds grow up. They won’t be there long, usually only two or three weeks. North America has lost nearly three billion breeding birds since 1970, which is roughly one out of every four birds.