Do birds fully leave the nest

longwalks1

We were doing some repairs and sealing up gaps in our roof/soffits in Aug last year and had to leave part of it as there was an in use birds nest in the loft, right by the last tile before the gutter.  We left it alone.

got through the heavy rains OK with no leaks but now want to seal the last bit up, will the nest be empty by now? 

It’s in part of the loft you can’t access or see from inside, and it’ll mean getting my roofing guy round with ladders to check - so thought I’d ask here. Do birds fully vacate a nest once they’re no longer chicks?  Pretty certain they were sparrows in there.

thanks everyone in advance 

Cheslea2010

I have had the same issues with Starlings. I waited until the chicks had fledged and then filled the access hole with expanding foam. However, the adults seem to have found there way back in via another route this winter and appear to be using the roof space to roost. I don't want to block them in but don't fancy another nest or 2 this summer either!

Brie

the robins that nested in our carport 2 years back never came back to the same nest or near it even though the space was still available.  instead some robin parked a new nest in a different part of the carport last year.  I took great delight in watching the little ones fall out of the nest flapping as best they could and within about an hour they had all left the area.  worried this year as a cat has begun to hang about as it's spotted a mouse run and I'm sure it will be very interested if a robin decides to return but there's been none whatsoever in that area of the property since last May/June.  Lots in clusters in the roses in the back garden.  

So if it's robins you should be ok right now but not perhaps in a few weeks.  (south coast)

twopenny

Usually they nest earlier than you think so sometime around February but def the beginning of March they mate and if it's a good year for food there may be a second brood which should leave end July.

Most will not return to the same nest but may tear it apart and start a new one if it's a good site. Sparrows do.

So yes it should be clear now. Just don't leave it too long.

If you feed the birds or neighbours do then watching when they start feeding themselves up which has started now.

Next you may see pigeons and such with twigs and grasses, Blackbirds scrape moss out of the lawn. Thats the sign they've started building.

I used to have Sparrows in the back of the house, Blackies at the side in a shrub and House Martins at the front in the eves.

I could hear the babies from tiny tweets to getting louder all the time till they left from whichever door I looked out of. One from my bedroom which was a lovely morning start.

Dustyevsky

I agree with twopenny. Depends on the area, but where we are in the south, it's been a mild winter (so far!) and the sparrows may well get down to what sparrows do by mid-February.

TELLIT01

Some birds try to get back to the original nest location each year.  We actually filled one access hole with expanding foam but the birds just dug it all back out again the following year.