A chaffinch with its young chicks.
Have you found a featherless baby bird on your Sunday walk and are now wondering what you should do? Or do you want to trim your hedge but can hear a loud twittering between the leaves? Find out here what you should know about the breeding season for wild birds.
In general, the breeding season for most wild bird species in our domestic gardens takes place from spring to summer. The following table lists when which bird species breed and by which colour you can recognise the clutch:
| Bird species | Breeding season | Colour of the clutch |
| Blackbird | March – July | green |
| Blue tit | April – June | reddish-brown, spotted |
| Bullfinch | April – August | bluish with russet to black markings |
| Chaffinch | March – June | light brown to bluish with russet markings/stripes |
| Coal tit | April – June | dark, spotted |
| Dunnock | April – August | green to blue |
| Great tit | April – July | reddish-brown, mottled |
| Redstart | May – July | green to blue |
| Robin | April – July | russet |
| Spotted woodpecker | April – July | white |
| Wagtail | March – July | grey-brown, speckled |
| Wren | April – August | russet, speckled |
The breeding season is somewhat different for pet birds. Animals in human care can breed regardless of the time of year.
The following factors play a significant role:
If you keep your exotic birds indoors, they may also breed in autumn. However, if they live outdoors in an aviary, they will presumably lay their eggs in spring due to the cold and shorter periods of daylight.
Native bird species need your help because they are losing their habitat being destroyed due to redevelopment. Hence, it is important that you also do your best to protect the offspring of garden birds.
Many bird species build their nests between the branches of thick hedges. There the eggs and freshly hatched chicks are protected from predators (e.g. cats) and inclement weather. According to Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976, as amended by Section 46 of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000 the nesting and breeding season for birds and wildlife takes place from 1st of March until 31st of August. During this time, it is forbidden to damage bird eggs and nests that are in use. This includes cutting, grubbing and any other means of destruction of hedges and uncultivated land.
© allexclusive / stock.adobe.com
It is extremely important to keep your dog on a lead during nesting season. After all, there are also ground-nesting birds, too. Even if there is no lead requirement where you live, it is important to protect birds that you keep your dog away from nests and keep an eye out for young birds.
Since the breeding season for birds starts from March, February is the best time to put up bird houses or nesting boxes in your garden. The birdhouses that you need depend on the bird species.
Whilst robins like wide openings, tits and sparrows prefer smaller entrance holes, whilst wrens need semi-open birdhouses. Ideally, your birdhouses will be made of natural materials like wood, terracotta or wood cement. You should avoid plastic because mould can quickly form inside due to the high humidity.
If you find a young bird, you shouldn’t act too hastily. Look at its plumage and general condition. If the bird has a fully formed plumage and can already fly a few metres, you should leave it where it is.
If the feathers are still surrounded by husks and the bird is not yet mobile, it is probably a nestling. In this case, orphaned chicks do need your help!
© nataba / stock.adobe.com
Attention: It is a legal offence to distrupt a bird’s nest. If the nest is easily accessible and you would like to put the chick back, you are in a legal predicament. If you still decide to put the chick back, you should only do so if the parents are foraging for food and don’t notice you. Since birds don’t have a strong sense of smell, the parents do not notice that you have touched the chick.
If you can’t find a nest or the bird is injured, you should pick it up. Before putting it in a box, you should examine it cautiously. After all, the chick may be the victim of the cat or have a broken wing.
© Виктор Иден / stock.adobe.com
If you can’t find a nest or the bird is injured, you should pick it up. Before putting it in a box, you should examine it cautiously. After all, the chick may be the victim of the cat or have a broken wing.
If you spot open wounds or the bird gives a poor general impression, you should contact a vet. They can prescribe antibiotics for bacterial infections or painkillers.
Keep the chick warm if you take it home. Blunt tweezers or a disposable syringe with which you can place solid food or food pulp into the beak are perfect for feeding.
The food that your chick needs depends on what bird species it is. If you cannot identify the species yourself, you can take advice from your vet or experts (e.g. bird welfare organisations).
At the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen I was extensively trained as a veterinarian and was able to gain experience in various fields such as small animal, large animal and exotic animal medicine as well as pharmacology, pathology and food hygiene. Since then, I have been working not only as a veterinary author, but also on my scientifically driven dissertation. My goal is to better protect animals from pathogenic bacterial organisms in the future. Besides my veterinary knowledge, I also share my own experiences as a happy dog owner and can thus understand and enlighten fears and problems as well as other important questions about animal health.
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Have you found a featherless baby bird on your Sunday walk and are now wondering what you should do? Or do you want to trim your hedge but can hear a loud twittering between the leaves? Find out here what you should know about the breeding season for wild birds.
