Why would a bird build a nest here?

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After so much rain, I was able to finally work in the yard trimming bushes and weeding. My bushes and other shrubs were so over grown. We have this one small beautiful Japanese maple tree. I was trimming it and all of a sudden this bird flew out right next to me! I thought I better be careful as there is likely a nest in here (we have had some there previously) - I searched and did not see one so continued trimming.

Then I go to the bushes - got to one that is very low to the ground a couple of feet high. As I go to push some of the branches as I trim, there is a nest with 3 or 4 blue eggs. Oops I immediately left it alone. Afterwards I go to rake up near the small maple tree (just a few feet from this bush) and again that bird goes flying out. I realize this must be the mom so I had to completely leave the area.

Question why would it build a nest so low to the ground? And also right near the door we use to get in and out of the house? Next to where our cars are parked, etc. ? Lots of high people traffic and low to the ground? Great spot for us for viewing though once the babies hatch as it is right next to one of our windows looking directly onto it.

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@Linkat,

the short answer -- they're not very bright...

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@Region Philbis,

And the thing is - they are legally protected - even if I wanted to, legally I am not supposed to move or destroy a nest with eggs or baby birds or at least not a robin. I believe there are some birds you can do this with - but not robins.

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@Linkat,

A lot of birds nest on the ground, it may be that species doesn’t want to be too high up.

It sounds like there’s lots of cover.

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@izzythepush,

I thought it was a robin and they tend to nest higher up. I caught a quick look at the bird and the eggs look like robin eggs but I could possibly be wrong. We have lots of robins around here.

Fortunately I do not see cats running around the neighborhood but we have foxes … maybe being so close to the house provides some protection from predators… it is also not far from our dryer vent hopefully that is not harmful to them.

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Birds always try to build nests in my garage. They love the beams on my garage door. I keep stopping them, throwing out the nest before they can build them, but a couple of them got deep into my garage and built them on top of the Shelf. We had baby birds flapping around for a couple of days. I did invite the neighbor kids to come look at them, from afar of course.

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At least the European robins build their nests in dense vegetation close to the ground, sometimes in hedges and in trees with ivy growth.

This is because "our" robins originally lived in riparian forests, deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests, but only where the herb layer was not too dense and there was a rich ground fauna.

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I found this on a Q&A with a Robin expert (sounds very similar to my situation):

Q: Is there a risk to the eggs/young with constant disruption during nesting? A robin has built a nest (with 4 eggs) in a bush right outside our front door and next to the driveway. The robin scatters every time somebody walks by.

A: Once in a while, a panicking robin mother can damage or dislodge an egg, so you're right to be concerned, but there's not much you can do. She was presumably noticing your family's comings and goings when she chose the site and built the nest. The best you can probably do is signal her—say, by whistling or calling out—before you approach too closely, allowing her to leave without panicking.

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@Linkat,

Linkat wrote:

And the thing is - they are legally protected - even if I wanted to, legally I am not supposed to move or destroy a nest with eggs or baby birds or at least not a robin. I believe there are some birds you can do this with - but not robins.

Really? Why?

I'd never destroy a bird's nest no matter what the bird, but I'm surprised that robins are legally protected this way. As far as I know they aren't endangered or anything.

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@oralloy,

I don't know, but you can't have more than three shells in the magazine for crows, but five is okay for quail. Something to do with a US/Canada migratory bird act.

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@oralloy,

This is what I had found from Mass Audubon .... "Most birds are protected by federal laws under the "Migratory Bird Act of 1918," as well as by Massachusetts state laws. It is illegal to destroy, relocate, or possess wild birds, their nests, or their eggs. The only exceptions are non-native species—House Sparrows, European Starlings, and Rock Pigeons."

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Saw a couple of babies - one flopping around on the ground another ran away under another bush when I walked out. Peeked in the nest - it was empty.

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