I GUESS most people wouldn’t think that wild birds were nesting already. The weather has mostly been cold, wet and miserable. We associate nesting birds with warm spring days, the dawn chorus of early summer mornings and long lazy sunny evenings when blackbirds sing from their favourite perch and swifts and house martins dash overhead collecting insects to feed their broods.

Despite the dreary weather, some birds are well into their breeding season. Wood pigeons and collared doves always nest early, often choosing a nest site in an evergreen bush or tree. This of course means that you may be unaware of birds nesting in your garden. When feeding young, even large birds like wood pigeons can be quite secretive. They don’t make a fuss when approaching their nest. That could give away its whereabouts to predators.

So every year nests go unnoticed. Along comes someone with a chain saw or loppers, and the first anyone knows of the nestlings is when they tumble out of their nest as it falls to the ground.

That is what happened to these two wood pigeon chicks. They were less than a week old when their home was destroyed, and their parents left distraught at the loss of their nest and family.

So before venturing into the garden with saws and cutters, take a little time to watch from a distance. If you see any bird entering dense foliage, check it out for a nest before it’s too late.