Bird Nest Removal in Ohio Starts With Which Bird Built It

Which bird is it, and does federal law protect it?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the Migratory Bird Treaty Act “prohibits the take (including killing, capturing, selling, trading, and transport) of protected migratory bird species without prior authorization” from the Service. A 2004 amendment limits the Act to migratory birds that are native to the United States or its territories.

That native test is why two birds in the same wall can have opposite status.

State rules sit on top of the federal ones. The operator who takes the job answers for both.

Can I remove starlings or sparrows from a vent in Ohio?

The federal Act is not what stops you. Starlings and house sparrows are on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s list of birds the Migratory Bird Treaty Act does not apply to, published in the Federal Register on April 16, 2020.

Two cautions. First, the bird has to be identified. The Act applies to migratory birds that are native, so a different bird in the same vent may be covered. Second, this site has not read a state rule on starling or sparrow nests and found none in the sources it has read. That is not the same as there being none.

Note which vent it is, whether birds are still going in and out, and whether you can hear young.

What can be done about a woodpecker drilling my Ohio house?

The timing decides it. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects woodpeckers. The downy woodpecker, the red-bellied woodpecker and the northern flicker are all on the federal list of protected birds.

The Service gives the calendar. Drilling for nest cavities “usually occurs in the early spring, although some drilling occurs in the fall.” If a nest is already active, control has to wait until the young leave for good, which it says is usually around midsummer and varies by species.

On what works, the Service’s words are: “Physical exclusion is probably the most effective control method.” A depredation permit exists for some woodpecker species as a last resort. The Service says permits are issued only if non-lethal methods have been tried and have failed.

What about birds in the chimney?

They may be chimney swifts. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the chimney swift is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, along with its eggs and its nests.

The Service says swifts arrive in the United States in March or April and leave in August or September. For most of the country it advises cleaning chimneys between September or October and March or April, outside that season.

The chimney page covers chimney swifts and flues.

What does bird work on a house involve?

An operator inspects the house and explains the plan on the call. Two parts of any plan are fixed by the federal sources above: an active nest of a protected bird is left until the young are gone, and for woodpeckers the Service calls physical exclusion probably the most effective control method.

Questions worth asking the operator who takes the job:

• Which bird it is, and how that was confirmed.
• Whether the nest is active.
• What will be done at the vent or the siding, and when.

The operator chooses the method and prices the job.

What should I tell the operator about the birds?

Ohio Attic Animal Removal is a referral service run by Local Core Group. It has no field staff and does no bird work. A call to the number on this page is passed to an independent operator when one works at your address, and whether one does is settled on the call. The operator sets the price and answers for its own license and insurance.

Have these ready:

• Where the birds are: a dryer or bath vent, the attic, the siding or the chimney.
• What the bird looks like, or a photo taken from the ground.
• Whether birds are still coming and going, and whether you hear young.
• For a woodpecker, the month the drilling started.