The law on nesting birds

Between March and August the garden birds that we all love so much, will be busy making nests and bringing up their young and often choose garden hedges as the safest spot for nest building. These nests are legally protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is illegal to distrub or cause any harm to nests, eggs, chicks or wild birds so particularly during these months you must always check for nests before undertaking any work on hedges even including light hedge trimming.

It is worth keeping an eye on the flight path of birds because they’ll often make for exactly the same entrance point – generally birds going in and out of the same place in a hedge would indicate a nearby nest. Many birds nest in the same place year after year.

It may not be ideal for you to postpone hedge trimming to a date that suits the birds rather than when you’d ideally like to do it, but birds bring many benefits to gardens so putting their needs first (even if it wasn’t illegal!) is the right thing to do.