A man has been left unable to move his car after a bird belonging to a protected species of dove landed on the windshield and decided it looked like a nice place to make a nest.
TikTok user Hero_JP was returning to an underground garage yesterday when he came across his car. He expected that part, but the car had a surprise in store for him, it was now serving as a tree, both in terms of function and maneuverability.
A dove had made its nest on the windshield, and unfortunately for the driver, this particular type of dove is protected by bird law; more specifically, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act [MBTA].
"Ok please ignore dirty car," he said in the video titled "WHAT DO I DO", approaching the vehicle. "Like what do I do now?? Do I just drive?"
He attempted reasoning with the bird, telling her that he had places to be and was hungry, but the bird continued to sit on the car, unmoved by his pleas.
Eventually, he decided to drive slowly forward in an attempt to persuade the bird to move, which it did. But when he looked inside the nest he found that the bird had already laid an egg. He then apparently felt guilty as hell, and parked up exactly where he was before in order to encourage the bird to come back. He even threw a cardboard box into the mix to sweeten the deal.
The plan was to move the box containing the nest onto the floor, but this didn't work either. The bird kept returning to the car, so he placed the box back on the car and called the local wildlife and rescue, who informed him that "once it lays an egg, the birb is federally protected, so I can't move it".
Hence, his car is now effectively a tree.
"I like birb better," one user commented. "But isn't it just a mourning dove? They aren't endangered so what's the difference? I mean you should be able to move it at least."
Hero_JP cited the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), which says: "Most bird nests are protected under the (MBTA). Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) it is illegal to destroy a nest that has eggs or chicks in it or if there are young birds that are still dependent on the nest for survival."
He then cited the list of migratory birds protected by the act, which includes Zenaida macroura, the mourning dove. According to the USFWS, there is scope to move protected nests, however.
"Under very limited circumstances, the USFWS may issue permits to take active nests," it says on their website. "Nest removal permits are usually only issued when the particular nest is causing a human health or safety concern or the birds are in immediate danger. It is usually required that you wait for the nest to become inactive before destroying it."
Under another video titled "The bird really just stole my car", Hero_JP wrote that he had been advised that he could move it extremely gradually to a safe spot, in the hope that the bird would not notice what was going on. It's slow progress, and in the meantime he has made the bird more comfortable on his tree.
