Problem Solving

Is It Illegal to Remove a Bird Nest From Your House?

Under US federal law, not once the nest holds no eggs or young, as long as you destroy it rather than keep it or move it. Three state codes we read make no exception for an empty nest, and Canada and Britain draw the line in their own places.

Under US federal law, no, as long as the nest has no eggs or young in it and you throw it away rather than keep it or move it. With eggs or nestlings in it, removing it without a permit is illegal until the young have fledged.

That is not the whole answer. The federal policy itself says an empty nest "may be protected by additional Federal, State, Tribal, and local laws," and three state codes we read do exactly that. The feather version of the same federal law is in is it illegal to keep a bird feather you found.

The rules we read#

Find your row and read across. The fifth column is the one most people are asking about: the nest the birds have finished with.

Federal law is the most permissive about a nest being built, England the most protective of it. New York and Texas are strictest about the empty nest.

Why the answers online disagree#

A Birds & Blooms article published in February 2026 says it is illegal under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act "to remove nests of most native species, even after the birds have finished using them." Other pages say an empty nest is always fair game. Neither is right everywhere.

Federal law does not cover the empty nest. The statute bans taking or possessing "any migratory bird, any part, nest, or egg," which reads as if every nest were off limits. But take is defined as "pursue, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect," and the Service's January 2025 memorandum draws the conclusion: "only the term 'collect' could apply to the nest itself. Because the MBTA does not prohibit the destruction of a migratory bird nest alone, a permit or other regulatory authorization is not required to destroy a nest that is inactive." As a statement of federal law, the Birds & Blooms line is wrong.

But some states say what that article says. A reader in New York or Texas told "you cannot remove it even after they leave" was told something close to their state's text, credited to the wrong law. That is why the stricter answer keeps circulating: it is true in places, for reasons the pages repeating it do not give.

Keeping is not removing. The policy allows destruction only "provided no person retains possession of the nest or its contents." A robin's nest saved for a nature table is a possession offense even though throwing it away would not have been, the same rule that covers a feather you found.

Empty, being built, or in use#

The 2025 memorandum dropped the old word "active" and drew the line at the first egg. A nest "becomes in-use when the first egg is laid and remains in-use until nestlings fledge and are no longer dependent on the nest." And: "Nests that are being built or tended by adult birds prior to an egg being laid are considered inactive," as are "unattended nests, even if non-viable eggs or nestling remains are present."

So a pair of house finches carrying grass into your door wreath, with no egg laid yet, has an inactive nest, and taking it down that day needs no permit. The same nest a day after the first egg needs one until the young are gone, about a month.

The burden is yours. The Service says it is "the responsibility of the individual" to ensure "that the nest is inactive," and that destroying one that turns out to hold viable eggs or young is "illegal and fully prosecutable." It names colonial, burrowing and secretive nesters as the hard cases and recommends working "outside of nesting season." For a nest inside a vent or gutter where you cannot see in, wait. A misdemeanor violation carries a fine of up to $15,000, up to six months in prison, or both (16 U.S.C. 707(a)).

Moving a nest is the trap#

Moving a nest feels kinder than destroying it, and federal law treats it more strictly: "MBTA authorization is also required to relocate a nest, whether the nest is in-use or inactive. This is because relocation of a nest requires collection and possession of the nest."

States that protect the empty nest#

The memorandum "does not supersede or apply to other relevant Federal, State, or Tribal laws." Three state codes show why that matters.

• New York. ECL 11-0505(5): "No person shall rob or wilfully destroy a nest of any protected birds unless a permit shall first be obtained from the department." Protected birds (11-0103) are all wild birds except "the English sparrow and starling," wild pigeons and parrot-family birds. A robin's nest under your deck, empty since July, is still "a nest of any protected birds."
• Texas. Parks and Wildlife Code 64.002(a)(3): no person may "disturb or destroy the eggs, nest, or young of a bird that is not a game bird," and 64.003 repeats it for protected wild birds. Section 64.002(b) lets European starlings, English sparrows and feral rock doves "be killed at any time in any manner."
• California. Fish and Game Code 3503: "It is unlawful to take, possess, or needlessly destroy the nest or eggs of any bird." "Any bird" has no native-species carve-out, and the section does not define "needlessly." Section 3503.5 drops the word for hawks, falcons and owls: it is unlawful to "destroy the nest or eggs of any such bird." Section 3801 lets landowners take house sparrows and starlings on their own property.

Two consequences follow. Cleaning out a nest box after the season is plainly fine federally, but the New York and Texas texts carry no exception for it, and we did not read agency guidance on how either state applies its rule. And the birds you most likely want out of a vent are the ones these states leave unprotected or takeable: house sparrows and starlings, plus pigeons in New York and Texas. The pigeon rules that do exist are city feeding codes, covered in is it illegal to feed pigeons.

Canada and Britain#

Canada. Section 5 of the Migratory Birds Regulations, 2022 exempts "a nest that was built by a species that is not listed in a Table to Schedule 1 if that nest does not contain a live bird or a viable egg." For most backyard birds that is the whole rule. The 18 Schedule 1 species keep protection when the nest is empty: it may only be removed after "a written notice to the Minister" given months in advance, and only if the nest "has not been used by migratory birds since the notice was received."

The pileated woodpecker is the one a feeder owner meets: a pileated nest cavity in a dead tree on your lot cannot be removed until three years after notice. The list is federal only; hawks, owls, jays and crows are left to the provinces, as set out in our feather guide's Canada table.

England and Wales. Section 1(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to intentionally take, damage or destroy "the nest of any wild bird while that nest is in use or being built." A nest is protected from the first twig, not the first egg. Golden eagle, white-tailed eagle and osprey nests (Schedule ZA1) are protected whether in use or not. Section 21(1) sets the penalty at up to six months in prison, a level 5 fine, or both.

How long until the nest is empty#

Once there are eggs, the legal route everywhere above is to wait. Figures from our species profiles for birds that often nest on houses:

Count about a month from the first egg. The catch is the last column: pairs often start another brood, and mourning doves often reuse the same nest. If you want the spot clear, the federal window is the gap after the young have gone and before the next egg. Young robins leave before they can fly properly, so a fledgling on the lawn is no reason to put a nest back; see found a baby bird.

Where this page stops applying#

• Other states and towns. We read three state codes. Search your state's wildlife law for "nest" and read its definition of protected birds; local rules are covered in neighbors and ordinances.
• Eagles and endangered species. The federal memorandum says inactive bald and golden eagle nests, and those of species listed under the Endangered Species Act, keep federal protection.
• Penalties we did not read: New York, Texas, California, and Canada's as they apply to section 5.
• Canadian provinces and Scotland are not covered.
• A woodpecker drilling your siding is a different problem: will a suet feeder stop a woodpecker.

This is a reading of statutes, regulations and federal policy, not legal advice.