The birds will certainly express their distress in such a situation because their babies are inside the egg. Some birds may exhibit protective behaviors like shrieking or repeatedly flying at you to divert your attention away from the nest. Their instinct is to put themselves in danger rather than risk harm to their offspring.

However, it is unlikely that they will abandon the egg simply because it has been touched or the nest disturbed. It is advisable to take a quick look and then leave the nest undisturbed.

I recall an incident where my daughter discovered a bird’s nest in one of her hanging plants on her porch a few weeks ago. Accidentally, she soaked the nest while watering the plant, causing the mother bird to become extremely agitated. Fortunately, the eggs hatched a couple of days ago. Today, when I checked on the nest, I found the mother bird sitting there, her babies peeking out from underneath her. Over time, she learned that we meant no harm to her or her babies, so she has become less fearful of our presence.

It’s worth mentioning that after the soaking incident, the resourceful mother bird moved a plastic tag (indicating the plant type) to cover the nest, creating a small roof-like shelter. How clever!

Edit: Here’s a glimpse of the adorable baby birds…