Birds nesting on the porch - charming or disgusting?

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TheBeachHouse

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Looks like a couple of starlings are building a nest in the corner of our front porch. The side far away from any food, but about 5 feet from the front door. They were there last year and the PO and some guests enjoyed watching the babies hatch and grow.
At the time, I thought it looked unsanitary and vowed not to let them back.
But they are back. And I'm not sure how to get them to go away. Or, is it so very charming and memorable for a city person to see an actual birds' nest?
Charming or disgusting - discuss!
 
I already have one nest built on my front porch and expect more since I got the hanging baskets up on both front and back porches last week. They always end up with bird nests in them. The guests seem to like them. So far no great problem with droppings.
 
I'm surprised by your answer, but a bit relieved. I hate them. I love wildlife, but not on my porch. My husband thinks the guests will find them charming.
But as I'm reading, I'm also finding they are pretty tenatious and diffiuclt to move. He'll just have to keepup with cleaning the porch. You know, the brand new, very expensive, porch.
 
The one bird you can legally kill in all 50 states.
Mites, Histoplasmosis, bugs and stinky doo doo, not so cute...and they will come back year after year...
Typically these don't built in hanging baskets, they go for light fixtures and stronger structures for the mud nesting or anything they can get into.
Common problems and solutions
Prevention
Sealing openings
Identifying an active nest
Nesting in building cavities and vents
Nests in attics and similar cavities
Removing the nest
Removing the eggs
Legal consideration
Long term solutions
Competing with other songbirds
In yards and public places
Public health and starlings
Resources
 
Starlings!? Didn't notice that! I wouldn't allow starlings. Mine are little song birds of some sort. Lots of singing, not much mess. Nice to look at.
Get rid of those starlings!
 
Get rid of the starlings. They are invasive and not native. They take over other bird's nests and even toss the other's eggs out, then take over the nest themselves.
 
A semi cute story about starlings (which I originally thought were grackles).
One flew down the chimney into the wood stove. It flapped around and finally tapped on the glass to get out.
It took 30 minutes to get it out of the house. Dirty. Soot covered. Wild bird. In my house!
We had just put the stove pipe back together and it flew back in.
It immediately tapped on the glass and flew right out the door.
10 minutes later. Same thing.
Then it stopped.
Until the following spring. It flew down the chimney and tapped on the glass and flew right out the door.
I called dh at work and said, 'he,s baaaaaaack!'
So, yes. They come back to the same place every year. And they are incredibly smart.
Remove the nest everyday. It might take a week until the birds give up. Next year they'll try again.
 
I agree with everyone else-hope you got rid of the nest before they laid their eggs, if not you may be stuck with it unless you want to make one mamma mad-as soon as they are gone make sure you put wire on that hole or yes they will come back every year-and they are not native but smart
 
I already have one nest built on my front porch and expect more since I got the hanging baskets up on both front and back porches last week. They always end up with bird nests in them. The guests seem to like them. So far no great problem with droppings..
those must be finches arks-they will nest in the hanging baskets, and they are not a nuicience and yes they sing pretty-
 
Try putting up a mirror. We have a bird called Gildings???sp they love to peek holes to the out side walls of your home.They love peeking tin like on the chimney's. We have cement board on our house he keeps trying to make a hole into the cement board.
 
We had removed one of the panels of glass out of our hanging porch light in order to plug in christmas lights. Forgot to put it back and in the spring we had a little finch make a nest in it. Guests loved watching the momma bird fly to and fro. And she also had a beautiful song she always sang.
 
Get rid of them. Even if the nest has eggs I'd toss 'em and block the place where the nest was. Some people are really afraid of birds and mama birds can get aggressive when people come too near the nest.
Most birds are really cute (not starlings) but they all belong outside with nests in trees..not on a porch.
 
the title should be UGLY NUISANCE BIRDS nesting on the porch...they are not any bird.
 
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