Bird Rescue Center

It would depend on the species. Non-native birds are not considered protected, but we always obtain a photo to confirm species before disruption of ANY nest. When in doubt, leave a nest alone and wait until the birds are finished with it.

Yes, if there are multiple disturbances the parents will abandon the nest. It's best to let nature have its space and view from afar!

Our Education Ambassador birds can be sponsored, but we do not have pet birds to take home. Find out more about that here: https://www.birdrescuecenter.org/ambassador-guardianship/ Otherwise we typically recommend animal shelters to give birds in need a home.

If they're nesting there for now, then they just need to be left alone until they leave. If you're hearing babies begging for food then you should only have about 2-3 more weeks before they take off from the chimney. It's 30 days from hatching to fledging out, but you may not hear them until they're into their first week or so when they're stronger and more vocal. The best thing now is to keep the chimney open so the parents can safely access to feed any babies. If any birds fall to the fireplace, you can give us a call at (707) 523-2473 or Native Songbird Care and Conservation in Sebastopol at (707) 484-6502. They are one of our sister organizations that specializes in swallows and swifts! Usually in the fall the swifts will move on and at that time you can clean it out. If you do not want them back next summer, simply remember to close everything up prior to spring so it's not an option!

We have an abundance of crochet nests and since we connect with the other wildlife organizations in the area daily during the summer, we know that the North SF Bay area is pretty covered in that department. You could make them a little larger as hats and see if a human hospital could use them.