Why Nest Awareness is so important
Every year, tens of thousands of migratory birds return to Southern California to build nests and raise their young.
Many active nests are unknowingly damaged during routine landscape maintenance simply because people do not know what to look for.
Nesting Birds: What nests look like, where they will likely nest, and when they are using their nests
Fire Safety & Timing: Trimming trees before nesting season starts is always best
Palm Tree Trimming: Knowing that Hooded Orioles have two clutches every year, and their nests will be active until early August
Protected by the Law, The Hooded Oriole Nesting Cycle: The Hooded Oriole’s nest will likely appear inactive during May or June, as they raise their first clutch. They will return to their nests to raise a second clutch
Fire Safety & Responsible Timing
Fire Prevention and Nest Protection Can Coexist
Fire prevention and vegetation management are essential responsibilities throughout Southern California, particularly as wildfire risks increase during the warmer months. These activities play a critical role in protecting communities, property, and natural resources.
The goal is not to prevent necessary maintenance or fire-safety work, but to encourage responsible planning and awareness. By conducting nest inspections before trimming or vegetation management activities begin, property owners, contractors, arborists, and land managers can help identify and protect active nests whenever possible while still meeting safety and maintenance requirements.
With proper timing, communication, and awareness, it is often possible to balance wildfire preparedness with the protection of migratory birds and other wildlife that depend on Southern California’s urban and natural habitats.
Legal Protections
Federal Protection
Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
“…it shall be unlawful at any time, by any means or in any manner, to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, attempt to take, capture, or kill, possess, offer for sale, sell, offer to barter, offer to purchase, deliver for shipment, ship, export, import, cause to be shipped, exported, or imported, deliver for transportation, transport or cause to be transported, carry or cause to be carried, or receive for shipment, transportation, carriage, or export, any migratory bird, any part, nest, or eggs of any such bird, or any product, whether or not manufactured, which consists, or is composed in whole or part, of any such bird or any part, nest, or egg thereof…”
California State Code
3503. It is unlawful to take, possess, or needlessly destroy the nest or eggs of any bird, except as otherwise provided by this code or any regulation made pursuant thereto.
3503.5. It is unlawful to take, possess, or destroy any birds in the orders Falconiformes or Strigiformes (birds of prey) or to take, possess, or destroy the nest or eggs of any such bird except as otherwise provided by this code or any regulation adopted pursuant thereto.
Title 14, Chapter 1, Section 251.1. Harassment of Animals
Except as otherwise authorized in these regulations or in the Fish and Wildlife Code, no person shall harass, herd, or drive any game or non-game bird or mammal or furbearing mammal. For the purposes of this section, harassment is defined as an intentional act that disrupts an animal’s normal behavior patterns, which includes, but is not limited to, breeding, feeding, or sheltering. This section does not apply to a landowner or tenant who drives or herds birds or mammals for the purpose of preventing damage to private or public property, including aquaculture and agricultural crops.
Important Reminder
Property owners, contractors, and landscape professionals share responsibility for identifying and avoiding active nests
To Report a Violation of These Laws:
To report bird harassment, killing, and/or destruction of bird nests:California Department of Fish and Wildlife: (888) 334-2258, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northern California: (916) 414-6464Urban Landscapes
Species Most Likely Encountered in Neighborhoods, Schools, Shopping Centers & Business Parks
Male Hooded Oriole
Hooded Oriole
Photo © Julian Hicks, SoCal Orioles, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Nest Type
Hanging woven nest in fan palms
Primary Risk
Palm tree trimming during nesting season
Red-Winged Blackbird
Red-Winged Blackbird
Photo © Walter Siegmund, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Nest Type
Woven nest attached to reeds and cattails
Primary Risk
Pond and river side maintenance
Bullock Oriole
Bullock Oriole
Photo © Julian Hicks, SoCal Orioles, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Nest Type
Hanging nest woven in large shade trees
Primary Risk
Loss of large shade trees (Cottonwood, willow, Oak & Eucalyptus)
⚠️ Urban birds have adapted to human development, placing nests directly in the path of routine maintenance activities.
⛳ HOAs, Golf Courses & Private Developments
Species Most Impacted by Landscape Maintenance
Female Hooded Oriole
Hooded Oriole
Photo © Julian Hicks, SoCal Orioles, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Nest Type
Hanging woven nest in fan palms
Primary Risk
Fan Palm tree trimming during nesting season
Female Bullock Oriole
Bullock Oriole
Photo © Julian Hicks, SoCal Orioles, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Nest Type
Hanging nest woven in large shade trees
Primary Risk
Loss of large shade trees (Cottonwood, willow, Oak & Eucalyptus)
Red-Winged Blackbird
Red-Winged Blackbird
Photo © Walter Siegmund, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Image resized for website display
Nest Type
Woven nest attached to reeds & cattails
Primary Risk
Pond and river side maintenance
Bushtit
Bushtit
Bushtit photograph © Casey Helton Photography. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Image resized for website display.
Nest Type
Hanging Pouch nest
Primary Risk
Tree and hedge trimming
⚠️ HOA and golf course maintenance schedules frequently overlap with peak nesting activity, specifically for Hooded Orioles
🏛️ Parks, Open Space & Government Managed Lands
Species Most Impacted by Public Land Management
Hooded Oriole
Hooded Oriole
Photo © Julian Hicks, SoCal Orioles, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Nest Type
Hanging nest woven under a palm frond
Primary Risk
Fan Palm tree trimming during nesting season
Bullock Oriole
Bullock Oriole
Photo © Julian Hicks, SoCal Orioles, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Nest Type
Hanging nest woven in large shade trees
Primary Risk
Loss of large shade trees (Cottonwood, willow, Oak & Eucalyptus)
Least Bell's Vireo
Least Bell’s Viro
Photo © Steve Maslowski, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Svc. Public Domain.
Nest Type
Suspended woven cup nest
Primary Risk
River management and vegetation clearing
Warbling Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Photo © VJ Anderson, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Nest Type
Suspended woven cup nest
Primary Risk
River management and vegetation clearing