Removing thick ivy and birds nesting - can I do this now?

[BewareTheBeardedDragon]

I have thick ivy growing over a fence post and one end of the fence at the end of my garden, and I'd like to remove it, but I realise that bird nesting season is fast approaching (officially it runs 1st March - 31st July). It is a massive thick chunk - probably 2-3ft deep and 4ft wide so possibly that it might be used by local birds. My garden backs onto a semi wild park so I'm not worried about reducing nesting locations because there are loads and loads nearby - but I don't want to disturb any birds who may have already taken a fancy to my blasted ivy.

Is it too late already? I know it's not officially but I've also read that some start earlier. The small birds that are common around here are blackbirds, wrens, goldfinches, blue tits and great tits.

If we have lots of robins too

Oh, not if

It's too late. I'd leave it for next year.

We had a robin's nest in our ivy. They aren't very subtle, it was obvious what they are doing. Can you not tell from a bit of birdwatching what is (or is not) going on?

I have 4 dc at home - sadly I don't have time to bird watch. Could I trim it back a little bit without affecting the structure or can i not touch it at all til august?

You are obviously itching to do it. If you are going to do it then the sooner the better, in order to give the birds time for a change of plan.

I'm not, I'd like to but I'm asking to establish what the parameters are. If I literally can't touch it I won't. I love having birds in my garden and don't want to harm any. If I was going to do it regardless I wouldn't have asked.

Sorry, didn't mean to sound snippy.

Could I trim it back a little bit without affecting the structure or can i not touch it at all til august?
The law says that you must not harm nesting birds nor their nests. This is generally taken to mean "don't do work between 1st March and 31st July, and especially don't do mechanical work". Manual work, carefully done, is not illegal as long as you do not intentionally harm birds/nests.

www.durham.gov.uk/media/3887/Hedges-and-the-Law/pdf/HedgesAndTheLaw.pdf

I think you've left it too late - so plan for a trim in August.

Its lovely that your so concerned OP while everyone was off furloughed during the nesting season last year, locally they were all out hacking back hedges or ripping them out completely & lopping down trees .

Thanks - I will just carefully manually snip off the outer bits that are intruding on my compost area - just the feelers the started ivy is putting out in its aim for world domination. Otherwise I'll probably disturb any nesters more because I knock it a bit each time I go in there, and I can't not go to the compost until August 😱
I'll be super careful.

The law says that you can't intentionally or "recklessly" disturb a nest being built or used. That means you can do the work if you've established there are no nests in there, which is next to impossible with ivy (although it would be possible with a tree or a deciduous hedge).

I don't think cutting of the "feelers" will disturb anything. But leave the main work to the autumn. You may be surprised at how much is in there - I know I'm always surprised at how many nests there are in my garden that I've been totally unaware of.

Thanks - I have gently removed the feelers, giving it a light haircut and foiling immediate pretensions to re-colonising the new fence. Will leave the rest now until autumn.

I started to cut back a massive cotoneaster in our garden yesterday and while we were having a coffee break, DH saw a female blackbird fly into it carrying nesting material.

So that was that. I've had to leave it part done.

I've checked today and she's been flying in and out quite a few times.

Birds can't read, so they don't know it isn't the 1st March yet, and they are cracking on with it round here.

Lol, yes I did think that they might not have got the memo that bird nesting season was a week away.:. They're not waiting for Birdis Birdson to make an announcement with a date.