Fireworks and Nesting Birds – 5 Things That Can Happen and What to Expect

As the fireworks tents go up, a lot of bird lovers wonder what will happen to their nesting birds, especially if these bird lovers are landlords to any backyard birds.

When it comes to fireworks and nesting birds, one of five scenarios can happen: the mother stays with her babies, the mother abandons the nest for the night but returns the next day, the mother leaves and doesn’t return, both parents do not return, or the nestlings flee the nest too early.

If you have active nests in your backyard, and are a little worried about the upcoming fireworks, this article will take you through each of the scenarios, help you prepare and help you determine what to do to take care of your nesting birds in the event things don’t go well.

Table of Contents: Nesting Birds and Fireworks

• Scenario 1: Mother bird and babies stay in the nest the whole night.
• Scenario 2: Mother bird leaves the nest but returns the next day.
• Scenario 3: Mother bird leaves the nest and does not return.
  • When there is eggs in the nest
  • When nestlings are under a week old
  • When nestlings are a week or older
  • When nestlings are close to fledging
• Scenario 4: Mother and father birds both abandon the nest after fireworks.
• Scenario 5: Nestlings jump out of the nest too early.
• Talking to neighbors about Independence Day

Scenario 1: Fireworks go off and the mother bird and babies stay in the nest the whole night

The first scenario is the one that happens more often than not, and it’s the best outcome you could hope for.

After a full night of fireworks, most of the time the mother bird will stay with her nest and babies or eggs the whole night if she’s brooding them. And if she’s not incubating and brooding, she will still return to the nest the next morning.

As flashy and frightening as fireworks can be for animals, nesting birds are no strangers to flashes and booms.

Even during rough thunderstorms, you’ll find mother robins hunkering down and keeping her baby birds safe through the whole thing.

We’ve also observed this with bluebirds, where thunder will boom loudly over the nest box, lightning will flash and crack, and even hail will come down. Despite all this, the mother bird stays the entire night.

As the days lead up to the Fourth of July holiday and people fire off firecrackers and small rockets, you’ll get a sense of how wild birds in your yard will respond.

Scenario 2: Mother birds leave the nest during a night of fireworks but return the next day

The second best scenario when it comes to fireworks and nesting birds is that the mother might be frightened off her nest for the night but returns either early or late in the morning to resume incubation, brooding or feeding.

Naturally, if you don’t see the mother bird right away, you might get a little worried, but there is no reason to interfere – not yet.

Most species of birds have dual parenting – both father and mother bird care for nestlings. While the father bird does not have a brood patch and therefore cannot incubate eggs or brood their young (sit on the hatchlings to keep them warm), they will work harder to feed their young during the absence of the mother.

There are some exceptions, such as hummingbirds, where the mother is the sole provider.

But in any case, keep your eye out on the nest. If you’re very worried, watch intently. Birds are very secretive, and they intentionally only approach their nest when they feel they aren’t being watched.

In the meantime, while you wait for the mother, provide some live mealworms to help the father bird out.

Just to be clear, most birds, even seed birds will be feeding their nestlings bugs and grub. Bugs and grub are not only the primary source of nutrition, but also a nestling’s source of hydration.

Never give an orphaned nestling water, by the way.

Scenario 3: Mother bird leave the nest during a night of fireworks and does NOT return

Now we’re getting into the more critical scenarios when it comes to nesting birds and fireworks. These situations are more rare but do happen.

If, after a night of fireworks, the nesting bird does not return to her nest the next day and has pretty much abandoned the nest, the father bird should take over care of nestlings. He cannot maintain their body heat, nor can he incubate eggs, but he can feed them.

We’re going to break this section down a little bit because how this scenario plays out will depend on the stage of the nest:

• Eggs in the nest
• Hatchlings in the nest
• Week-old nestlings
• Nestlings about to fledge

The nest has a better chance of survival when nestlings are at least a week old or nearly ready to fledge the nest.

When the mother abandons eggs

If the mother bird is nowhere to be found and you have eggs – more than likely they will not hatch. Even if the days are hot enough to keep eggs warm, they need regular turning and the mother bird also helps with proper humidity – things not happening if she’s gone.

The father bird does not develop a brood patch, which is a bald spot on the belly of the mother songbird. The brood patch not only lets her transfer her body heat to the eggs and nestlings, but also lets her detect egg temperature.

Because the male songbird does not have a brood patch, even if he attempts egg incubation, he won’t likely be successful because his feathers minimize heat transfer and he cannot detect the need of the eggs.

One of the things you can do is contact a wildlife rehabber to see if they will take the eggs. It’s only worth trying if it is a native bird, especially a species on a decline. Rehabbers most likely will not take in invasive birds like European starling eggs or house sparrow eggs and nestlings. And if they do, they may not be a reputable rehabber.

The chances of a rehabber taking in eggs is small, and will depend on their equipment, resources and available time.

If the nest is lost completely, don’t worry too much. Birds will usually make another attempt at nesting. It might not be in the same location, but if they’re a species that has multiple broods per season, they will most likely try again.

Mother bird abandons a nest with hatchlings or nestling birds under a week old

When fireworks leads a mother bird to abandon her nest with young under a week old, the father bird can provide food, but will not be able to keep baby birds warm enough. At a young age, baby birds cannot maintain their body temperature. Their survival will depend on the outside temperatures.

Sometimes father birds will sit on the nest, but without a brood patch it will be hard for him to keep the nestlings warm enough.

Their hope for survival, since they are too young to regulate their body temperature, is if the temperatures stay warm enough. In most areas of the United States, in July, there is actually a good chance temperatures will remain warm enough.

The upside in all of this is that the father bird will continue to provide food to the young.

One of the best ways to help a father bird feed his nestlings during the mother bird’s absence is to provide live meal worms for chickadees, titmice, swallows, and bluebirds.

You can use a covered mealworm feeder to ensure squirrels don’t raid the feeder.

While finches and cardinals are seed birds, they will be providing their nestlings with a lot of bugs. Keeping your yard free of pesticides and providing good habitats for native bugs to thrive will help them.

If you have stone pavers or logs in the yard, turning them up might reveal some roly polies.

For robins, mocking birds and brown thrashers, watering up an area of soil and turning it will get worms and other crawlers freed up for them to hunt a lot easier.

Another important supplement for father birds having to fully take over feeding is to provide a bird bath.

When considering a bird bath, make sure it’s not too slick and not too deep so that the bird can get good footing inside.

Mother bird abandons a nest with nestlings over one week old

If a mother bird abandons her nest due to fireworks and the baby birds are a week or older, their chances of survival increase dramatically since they can maintain their body temperature better and the father bird will take over feeding them.

Just like you would for young nestlings, all you have to do is provide a good source of food for the father bird.

While seed is helpful for him, he’s mostly feeding his young berries, bugs and grub since this provides the fat, protein, nutrition and hydration they need. So supplementing their food with live bugs will help them out tremendously.

Again, providing fresh, clean water will also help the father keep up with the duties in the absence of the mother bird.

Mother bird abandons a nest with nestlings about to fledge (leave) the nest

If fireworks leads a mother bird to abandon her nest with nestlings who are about to fledge, the chances of baby bird survival is extremely high, and there is less need for you to help the father in his care – though providing water is still very useful.

When you have baby birds that are too big to fit in the nest and seem to have all their feathers, you can bet they’re about to leave the nest and learn to be real birds.

When it comes to fledgling care, father birds usually take on a lot of the responsibilities. So if the mother bird has gone missing due to fireworks, the nest is in a good position for survival.

We still recommend always putting out fresh, clean water no matter what, especially since the young fledglings will need access to water.

Scenario 4: Fireworks cause both the father and mother bird to abandon their nesting area

While this is rare, birds and fireworks can sometimes have a bad ending, and frighten nesting birds off enough to abandon their nest. It doesn’t happen often, but it has been reported, and is very sad when neither parent bird returns the next day to care for their young.

Sometimes the sights and sounds of fireworks stress birds out too much or disorient them to such a degree that they are too anxious to return.

If fireworks scare off both parent birds, and there are nestlings or hatchlings in the nest, search for a wildlife rehabber or wild bird rehabber and ask them how to proceed. They’ll often give you instructions for how to transport the young. Be prepared for a commute.

If you have an active nest with newly hatched baby birds or young baby birds, it’s a good idea to search out a wildlife or wild bird rehabber ahead of time in anticipation for fireworks.

You might not need them for this situation, and we hope you don’t. But it is a good idea to have the phone number, address and instructions handy in case of emergency.

Be sure to find out what a rehabber’s after hours drop-off instructions are since a lot of emergencies happen after hours.

If you suspect neither parent is visiting the nest, watch the nest very closely for an hour or even longer. Listen out for the particular species – it could be that the parents are nearby but are afraid to approach the nest with your presence.

If you don’t know the sound the bird makes, a simple YouTube search will help.

The challenge is if you don’t know the species of bird the nest belongs to in the first place.

Below is a quick guide to help you narrow things down. It’s not an all-encompassing guide, but we have chosen to highlight some of the more common birds found in backyards.

• Red color bird with open cup nest (not in a nest box or bird house) – Familiarize yourself with the sounds of cardinals (especially chipping sounds), house finches (chirp and song), and scarlet and summer tanagers.
• Blue color bird with open cup nest – familiarize yourself with the sounds of blue jays, indigo buntings band barn swallows.
• Brown color bird with open cup nest – Familiarize yourself with the sounds of robins, brown thrashers, mocking birds, chipping sparrows.
• Yellow color bird with open cup nest – Familiarize yourself with the sounds of gold finches, and meadowlarks.
• Nest found in a wreath – most likely a house finch. Familiarize yourself with their songs.
• Nest found in an odd place – nests found in weird places like grills, or collapsed umbrellas, under a car, etc. is most likely a Carolina wren. A little brown bird with a white stripe by its is even better confirmation. They will chitter and sing very loudly. They’re amazing birds. Look up their sounds to get familiar and hear if they’re still in the area.
• Nest in a nest box or bird house – There are a variety of cavity birds you could have in your nest box or birdhouse (we recommend not using birdhouses since they are not ideal for cavity birds). Familiarize yourself with the looks and sounds of chickadees, bluebirds, tree swallows, titmice, prothonotary warblers (yellow), and great crested flycatchers to name a few. House sparrows, Eurasian tree sparrows and European starlings are possible, but since these are invasive birds that harm native birds, we don’t want to make much allowance for them.
• Nests in rafters – These could be finches, eastern phoebes or barn swallows to name a few.

If you’re hearing a sound you believe is the right species and it’s near the nest, the parents are nearby. If you get closer to the nest and hear chatter get faster and more frantic, this is definitely the parents keeping an eye on the nest and being not too happy you’re near – a sign they have not abandoned the nest.

If you’re unsure, consult a wildlife rehabber for guidance. When it comes to nature, interference only when necessary is the best approach.

Once you’re certain both parents have not returned, and it has been several hours – and the parents are definitely not nearby, then bringing the baby birds to a rehabber is the best chance for their survival.

Oftentimes rehabbers are not nearby. Prepare for a bit of a commute or contact friends who might be willing to help with the commute.

For longer drives, definitely ask a wildlife rehabber for guidance on how to safely transport the young birds.

Scenario 5: Fireworks frighten nestlings out of the nest

When it comes to nesting birds and fireworks, the worst scenario is when baby birds prematurely leave the nest. It is possible to return them to their nest after the fireworks have subsided. Parents will not abandon their young. Use gloves, be discreet, and expect parents birds to divebomb you.

You may have to wait until early early next morning. Again, consult with a wildlife rehabber ahead of time.

While it is not legal to take a wild bird into your home, they may advise you to do so temporarily until early next morning when they can be released.

When fireworks go off and scare nestlings out of their nest, you may not be able to find them. This is one of the worst case scenarios, and unfortunately, there is little you can do. However, this scenario is one of the rarest cases to happen.

In the end, when it comes to birds and fireworks, there is only so much you can do. But your help can make a difference when it comes to backyard bird conservation.

Talking to neighbors about their fireworks and nesting birds

When it comes to your neighbors shooting off fireworks while you have nesting birds in your backyard, attempting a conversation too close to the Fourth of July probably won’t work, but having this discussion a month or more before might make a little bit of a difference.

When it comes to neighbors, things get a little challenging. The thing is, they don’t see things your way, and that’s ok. What they do in their yard is their business.

If you’re wanting to talk to them days before Independence Day, you’re probably too late. Money has been spent, and plans have been made. The only thing you can do at this point is brace yourself and hope your birds don’t get too frightened.

Remember, wild bird weather very bad thunderstorms and still attend their nest. There is always hope that close-range fireworks won’t drive them off of an active nest.

Next year, however, your best bet is to get your neighbors excited about the nests in your yard. This means having more conversations with them and being intentional about a mutual friendship. Once you have a rapport, showing them pictures or talking about the birds in your yard will raise their excitement.

If you have active nests and pictures of the birds feeding them, show them. If they become emotionally invested, even a little bit, they might be more open to conversations about minimal fireworks.

As time gets closer to Independence Day – but not too close, start talking to them about their plans. If they plan to shoot off fireworks, it’ll be up to you to gauge the conversation and see if it’s worth bringing up.

Your relationship with your neighbors is more important than the birds in your yard, so be careful in your approach. You could use a gentle take by saying something like, “Oh, I hope the loud bangs don’t scare the parents off of their nest.”

Sometimes just a subtle mention that puts the idea in their head is enough – enough to make it their idea to reduce the use of fireworks.

They may not completely change their plans, but they might not use as many or use as powerful of an option.