What Bad Luck

[cuthound]

Having returned home from a weekend visit to our youngest son (he lives alone and is in our support bubble) I was looking forward to a few days boating from tomorrow.

 

However a moorhen has built a nest on my stern fender.

 

Anyone know how long it will be before she lays her eggs, they hatch and leave the nest?

 

 

[Jackofalltrades]

You're not the first. Think of it as a symbol of good luck ?

https://community.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/f/all-creatures/48452/moorhen-nesting-on-our-boat-for-weeks-and-weeks-and-weeks-will-she-ever-go?pifragment-4285=1

 

[Rob-M]

Judging by some CMers you probably won't be able to move for the rest of the year now.

[Jerra]

9 minutes ago, cuthound said:

Having returned home from a weekend visit to our youngest son (he lives alone and is in our support bubble) I was looking forward to a few days boating from tomorrow.

 

However a moorhen has built a nest on my stern fender.

 

Anyone know how long it will be before she lays her eggs, they hatch and leave the nest?

 

 

 

Incubation is about the same as a domestic hen.   In the region of 20 -22 days.   How many eggs in the nest the norm is 5-7.

[Athy]

I've heard that it's illegal to disturb a nest which contains eggs, and indeed most people wouldn't wish to. But at what stage does it become a nest? If it's empty, it might be legal to get rid of it.

   Though, in doing so, you'd forgo the pleasure of seeing those delightful little balls of black fluff which are moorhen chicks.

Edited April 11, 2021 by Athy

[magpie patrick]

3 minutes ago, Athy said:

those delightful little balls of black fluff which ate moorhen chicks.

 There are monster chick-eating fluffballs roaming the canals?  

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

 There are monster chick-eating fluffballs roaming the canals?  

 

 

Pike

Rats

Mink

Fox

[Jerra]

7 minutes ago, Athy said:

I've heard that it's illegal to disturb a nest which contains eggs, and indeed most people wouldn't wish to. But at what stage does it become a nest? If it's empty, it might be legal to get rid of it.

  

I wouldn't recommend this.   Wildlife and countryside act says it is an offence to:  

• Intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built.

Once the bird has started the nest is being built.

[tree monkey]

10 minutes ago, Athy said:

I've heard that it's illegal to disturb a nest which contains eggs, and indeed most people wouldn't wish to. But at what stage does it become a nest? If it's empty, it might be legal to get rid of it.

   Though, in doing so, you'd forgo the pleasure of seeing those delightful little balls of black fluff which ate moorhen chicks.

It's illegal to disturb an active nest, that is a nest being used or built eggs or not

 

Jerra was faster

Edited April 11, 2021 by tree monkey

[Guest]

Moorhen mobile home?

 

Take em all with you.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(for those lacking a sense of humour this was not a serious suggestion)

[Athy]

14 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

 There are monster chick-eating fluffballs roaming the canals?  

Well sotted.

Whoops.

[ditchcrawler]

21 minutes ago, Athy said:

I've heard that it's illegal to disturb a nest which contains eggs, and indeed most people wouldn't wish to. But at what stage does it become a nest? If it's empty, it might be legal to get rid of it.

   Though, in doing so, you'd forgo the pleasure of seeing those delightful little balls of black fluff which are moorhen chicks.

When they have gone carefully remove the nest and put it on E bay as mooring equipment for CMing

[Athy]

2 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

When they have gone carefully remove the nest and put it on E bay as mooring equipment for CMing

 

This conversation has taken me back  well over half a century. I was walking round a locomotive shed (possibly Doncaster) jotting down engine numbers, after my Dad had bribed the foreman to turn a blind eye. We noticed one loco which, though in smart condition and obviously not yet destined for scrap, was parked in a siding at the back. We asked a passing railwayman about it and he pointed out a blackbirds' nest on the tender and said that the engine would be out of use until the chicks had flown. I think that in those days this was because of the railwaymen's soft-heartedness rather than because there was a law about it.

 

Another thought: if you take your boat, with nest, bird and eggs on board, out for a day's cruise, are you "disturbing" the nest?

[magpie patrick]

There are exceptions to the rule, which is not surprising - after all if there is a nest in the guttering of your house it might be an idea to remove it before heavy rain arrives, and if the nest is blocking your garage doors and you can't get your car out?*

 

• It is not illegal to destroy a nest, egg or bird if it can be shown that the act was the incidental result of a lawful operation which could not reasonably have been avoided.

I'm not sure moving a boat is a "lawful operation which could not reasonably be avoided" - there is fact and degree at work here, must you really give up your only chance of a holiday? (Probably not - that's unreasonable) Just fancy a day out or want to clean the fender? Probably best leave the nest alone. 

One serious issue might be that the back deck is your way on and off the boat, in which case you are going to disturb the nest! 

If it were me, I'd decide whether I could realistically leave the nest completely undisturbed for a month, that is, not even get on the boat - if I could leave it alone, if not I think I'd remove the nest before there were eggs, on the grounds of "lawful operation that could not reasonably be avoided"

Incidentally - the above defence means CC'ers can move their boats even if birds do nest on them

*I'm not sure whether removing a nest to get your car IN the garage would be lawful though

[haggis]

31 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Pike

Rats

Mink

Fox

And heron

[magpie patrick]

38 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

 There are monster chick-eating fluffballs roaming the canals?  

 

35 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Pike

Rats

Mink

Fox

 

3 minutes ago, haggis said:

And heron

Pedant alert, Pike and Heron are NOT fluffballs! and I think the jury is probably out on the other three as well!

[Murflynn]

I suppose it all depends on whether you consider yourself a continuous cruiser moorer or not.

 

If you do and you are mooring in the best place to run your life, you should get a statement from WWF to declare you compulsorily static for at least 12 months.   

 

 

 

............................   damn!  now I've said that loads of folk will be seeking out nests to transfer to their back button.  

[Ex Brummie]

And now you've told the world, you don't have a lot of options.

Your choices may be altered by the actions of other predators not mentioned. Do you have Magpies or Crows in the vicinity? They are both adept at emptying nests of eggs or chicks. I always remember seeing a moorhen with two chicks crossing the S&W in Wolverhampton when a crow swooped down and took one. Mother turned round and swam to where the chick had been when another crow took the one she had left. A puzzled mother swam round in a circle and then drifted off. Nature's hard.

[zenataomm]

"What Bad Luck"

Surely not? Merely a mild irritation, after all it could have been much, much worse.

It could have been my back fender!

[ditchcrawler]

14 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

I suppose it all depends on whether you consider yourself a continuous cruiser moorer or not.

 

If you do and you are mooring in the best place to run your life, you should get a statement from WWF to declare you compulsorily static for at least 12 months.   

 

 

 

............................   damn!  now I've said that loads of folk will be seeking out nests to transfer to their back button.  

I think you can buy old car tyres with one already in place

2 minutes ago, Ex Brummie said:

And now you've told the world, you don't have a lot of options.

Your choices may be altered by the actions of other predators not mentioned. Do you have Magpies or Crows in the vicinity? They are both adept at emptying nests of eggs or chicks. I always remember seeing a moorhen with two chicks crossing the S&W in Wolverhampton when a crow swooped down and took one. Mother turned round and swam to where the chick had been when another crow took the one she had left. A puzzled mother swam round in a circle and then drifted off. Nature's hard.

I have seen magpies going back and forth taking pheasant chicks

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

When they have gone carefully remove the nest and put it on E bay as mooring equipment for CMing

 

I'm not sure it is sufficiently well constructed to remove. ?

 

We had one begin to build a nest on the boat before, but it blew away in a moderate breeze.

 

I found this on the RSPB website, it seems it may be July before we can go boating. ?

 

https://community.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/f/all-creatures/48452/moorhen-nesting-on-our-boat-for-weeks-and-weeks-and-weeks-will-she-ever-go?pifragment-4285=1#:~:text=- Moorhens can lay up to,are never going to hatch%3F

[1st ade]

1 hour ago, magpie patrick said:

*I'm not sure whether removing a nest to get your car IN the garage would be lawful though

 

We've had this discussion with parked vehicles blocking the access to the backway to terraced housing; the police are much more interested in enforcing if you can't get out than if you can't get in.

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, magpie patrick said:

 There are monster chick-eating fluffballs roaming the canals?  

 

1 hour ago, Athy said:

 

Well sotted.

 

You mean there are drunken monster chick-eating fluffballs roaming the canals?   

[robtheplod]

Is cruising counted as disturbing the nest?  She may like the change of scenery?

[magpie patrick]

If you ask a conservation body they will give you the interpretation that you can't move, and either say there are no exception or that the exceptions don't cover you. If you take that to it's logical conclusion then hire boat operators might find a boat taken out of fleet for several weeks, or boaters end up cancelling booked dry dock slots, or even end up being unable to get the boat back out of dry dock. The exceptions are there for a reason.

Assuming the bird isn't a protected species the offence is to take, damage or destroy the nest - disturbing it isn't an offence, so in theory you could tap dance in hobnail boots on the back deck. I'm not recommending this I'm just saying the law doesn't stop you. 

Birds do build nests in silly places and then abandon them, at which point the nest is "not in use". 
 

It could be argued that to move with the nest in place is "taking" the nest, by the same argument, leaving the fender behind with the nest on it is probably legal.