On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 12:55:50 +0200, john brook
wrote:

Was Just about to chop down a badly positioned Leylandii type tree in the
garden and discovered that's where a blackbird is bringing a mouthful of
worms to every few minutes.

I want to start work on the tree; but i dont want to keep peering into
the
nest and worry them.

How long roughly should I wait before the nest is likely to be cleared of
the babies and I can check them?



Allow 14 days for incubation of the eggs (if the food is going in every
few minutes it is likely that they have already hatched) and 14 days for
fledging, but please bear in mind that blackbirds will frequently have 2
or 3 broods between now and August.

There is an associated legal constraint which is covered in Part 1,
Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended by the 2006
NERC Act, which explains that

1)Subject to the provisions of this Part, if any person intentionally—
(a)kills, injures or takes any wild bird;
(aa)takes, damages or destroys the nest of a wild bird included in
Schedule ZA1; [eagles and osprey]
(b)takes, damages or destroys the nest of any wild bird while that nest is
in use or being built; or
(c)takes or destroys an egg of any wild bird,
he shall be guilty of an offence.

--
rbel