The beautiful spring weather we have been enjoying in my neck of the woods apparently prompted many homeowners to take on any number outdoor jobs.  One of these projects was cutting shrubbery. In truth, shrub pruning should have been accomplished much earlier in the year.

       When I brought a load of household garbage and recyclables to a nearby recycling center, the huge amount of shrub clippings piled in one of the huge recycling bins at the center told me a lot of folks took on this particular chore this weekend.  That prompted me to wonder how many bird nests their well-meaning activities disturbed.

       Whenever we talk about providing nesting habitat for our backyard bird neighbors too often we only think about birds that nest in nesting structures.  Consequently, too little thought is given to providing nesting sites for birds that routinely nest in the thick shrubbery growing in our yards.  The shrub-nesting birds I most often encounter in my yard are northern cardinals, mockingbirds and brown thrashers.  They will nest in thickest shrubs. Since these birds begin nesting in the spring, it is best to avoid trimming shrubs at this time of the year.

       There is nothing worse than to trim a branch off a shrub and find that nestled deep within the shrub an active bird nest.  When a nest exposed it becomes more vulnerable to nest predators and the weather.  Often nesting birds will abandon such a nest.   Birds are more prone to do prior to their eggs hatching.

       If, for some reason, you just have to trim your shrubs right now, before you begin, carefully search for nests.  If you don’t find any, go ahead with your job.

       When I think about the recycling bin that I saw this weekend, I wonder if the folks that created pile of trimmings took the time to ensure that their shrubs were being used by the bird neighbors to build their nests and raise their young.