Heres what to do and not to do if you find an animal nesting near your home this spring

For four years, a mallard has nested behind a bush near the front door of Caitlin Deal’s home in a Minneapolis-St.Paul suburb, offering an up-close glimpse of nature for her young son and lessons for how people can coexist with wildlife.The duck, dubbed Martha by the family, sits on her nest for about a month every spring in the tree-lined neighborhood of Eagan, Minnesota.

After her eggs hatch around Mother’s Day, the birds toddle away.“It feels nice that she trusts that area, that she trusts us to be able to come back year after year,” said Deal, whose four-year-old son Owen’s first word was “Duck.”Spring is when wildlife — everything from birds to deer to alligators — bear their young, often in locations more suitable to humans than animals.Experts maintain that with a few exceptions and some preparation, coexisting with creatures usually is easy — and often a lot of fun.“My two biggest things are: Stay away from the nest or the little family as much as possible, and stay curious,” said Brittney Yohannes, a spokesperson for the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota.Find a nest or baby animal? Wildlife experts advise leaving it alone.Removing a nest can be illegal under federal law.

If a bird has nested in a strange spot, homeowners can call their local wildlife agency for advice, said Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Beth Quillian.Besides birds, people often find deer fawns curled up in a corner of their yard or by an air conditioning unit.The fawn may appear abandoned, but Quillian said the doe usually has hidden her babe while foraging.“That is to protect the fawn, to leave it there, sometimes hours at a time, but the doe will come back to that fawn, and that is natural and normal,” Quillian said.People should leave fawns alone unless there are clear signs they need help.As cute as the animals may appear, people should remember that wildlife can be, well, wild.Ducks are docile on the nest, but Canada...