Please stop me from going around to the neighbours

[DuckyMcDuck]

And give them a piece of my mind. (Wine might have been taken!)

We have a lot of ivy growing on the fence at the back of our garden, there is a narrow passageway on the other side of the fence. This time last year, the neighbours asked to cut it back and we explained that it is always full of sparrows' nests and we would cut it back in the winter - which we did.

So this year, the sparrows have been there as usual. It's been lovely watching them fly in and out and we've been feeding and watering them as usual.

So, yesterday, the neighbours have decimated cutback the hedge. There are huge gaps and when we went into the passageway earlier I saw at least 6 nests and a few bodies of the baby birds.

I'm so cross, I understand that the access is tricky with the ivy at the moment but it's not damaging their property in any way and they know we'll cut it back once the fledglings have gone. But they've basically murdered the babies. Sparrows are becoming less common.

I don't know if they have actually done anything legally wrong but I'm so tempted to go and tell them they're a bunch of murdering fucking wankers.

She’s obviously realised that she’s in the wrong by now. I’m sure we’d have heard otherwise.

Yes, Op could have trimmed the hedge back earlier. But it’s unfair to suggest she could have predicted this. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I don’t like the way some posters are suggesting she’s to blame for the birds being killed. She isn’t.

This is some sort of parallel universe here, where killing birds is ok but not trimming your ivy every two weeks isn’t.

Of course she could have predicted it - it happened the previous year and the neighbours asked her to trim it back then. She left it from June until the winter to cut it back after being asked about it. The neighbours had to put up with it for months.

She's not to blame for the birds being killed, but she should be a better neighbour.

@YardleyX have you realised you’re wrong yet 🤣🤦‍♀️

Also it’s piss easy to do a check for nesting birds before you hack through suitable nesting habitat.

Report them. Vile humans.

Of course she could have predicted it - it happened the previous year and the neighbours asked her to trim it back then. She left it from June until the winter to cut it back after being asked about it. The neighbours had to put up with it for months.

Just when I think I’ve seen it all on MN!

You think she could have predicted her neighbours would act in such a cruel way just so the hedge was neat? Rather than hold their horses for a couple of weeks to avoid killing loads of baby birds? Really?

You must also have a much more cynical view of humanity than I have. And be way more perfect than the rest of us. Congratulations. This is Chat, btw, not AIBU, where it seems to be viewed as ok to pile on an OP while claiming sanctimoniously to be perfect oneself.

This is some sort of parallel universe here, where killing birds is ok but not trimming your ivy every two weeks isn’t.

I know! Unbelievable. Tells you a lot about some people’s’ values, doesn’t it. Quite the eye-opener. And not in a good way.

You're both in the wrong, it was really unreasonable of you to let your Ivy get to the point that it was restricting access to others. They still shouldn't have carelessly cut it down.

Next year, keep a closer eye on it, if it was so bad that you had to move it out the way to get past in May, then how do you think it would be two months later?

What @Veterinari and @Tolleshunt said

Honestly I am pretty shocked and disgusted by some of the attitudes on this thread.

Hope you’re ok @DuckyMcDuck must’ve been horrible to see

I dont agree with what they did to the nests but its your fault, they should not have to move the ivy to access their garden, if it was so thick as to hide multiple nests it was allowed to get far too thick, not everyone wants to get covered in spiders and insects from ivy

No, she could have predicted the hedge would overgrow badly and cause a nuisance, is what I meant .

We have so many bird families in our garden, including ring-collared doves (a breed of pigeon). I have no ideas where their nests are, because we have so many trees; I just know they're there. We have loads of ivy, unfortunately, but it affects us, not anybody else. We employ somebody to maintain our hedgerows who wouldn't dream of cutting anything back whilst birds are roosting. I hate how pigeons are considered as a 'lesser' type of bird. Birds were on this planet long before us. I love watching them come back year after year, rearing their families.