Bird Versus Toddler

What would possess a bird to build a nest right on top of a child's play set? Do they not understand that toddlers (especially boys) are rough and destructive?! As you can see from the photo, this is where a robin decided to build her nest. Right on the platform of the boys play set! Tucked right in the corner above the stairs! At least she was courteous enough to leave room for the boys to get by on the ladder! lol
The other day Alex was playing outside and he said that the bird wasn't letting him go down the slide! I had seen that there was a bird trying to build a nest, but I didn't think she was actually building on there! I thought he was just making up a story! He likes to chase birds around the yard and try to pet them! He gets so upset when they fly away, he says: "I'm only trying to pet them!"

I don't understand why wildlife always picks our yard to raise their family? Our yard is the most unwelcoming for animals! lol Rabbits always have nests in our yard. I don't know how many rabbits our Golden Retrievers would get a hold of each year when they were alive!

Allie my little chihuahua mix hates any type of animals. She despises the squirrel that has a nest in the tree in our backyard. She will stand at that tree and bark forever! And it almost seems that the squirrel taunts her because it knows she can't get it!

A couple summers ago she was running in the backyard and she had something in her mouth. I called her over to see what she had and there were these little bitty legs just flopping around as she ran...she got an entire chipmunk. She didn't do anything with it, she just ran around with it in her mouth! Gross! I had to yell for her to drop it, and get a shovel and a pair of gloves to remove it because I didn't want her tearing it apart! lol

Back to the rabbits..one summer I heard this high pitch squealing coming from the backyard. I don't know if you ever heard a baby bunny squeal, but the dogs got into the nest and were playing with it. They never ate the bunnies, they would just toss them around, chase them, and in the end the baby bunny would die. That particular bunny was spared that day, when I made the dog drop it!

I hate the fact that the dogs would get into these things. And it would really bother me when an animal would die! But my husband tries to convince me that it's an unpleasant part of "nature!" It's just a sad part that I do not like! I wish that all the animals could just live in harmony! lol

But I just can't figure out why my yard?

Which brings me back to the robin's nest. I went out tonight and photographed the nest. Isn't it just beautiful? And perfect! Notice the white type of plastic string to the left of her nest? That's part of the house wrap that is from our house! lol We're close to getting siding, so part of our house still has some house wrap on it. Some of it is tattered, and she must have pulled it off of our house for her nest! lol At least she's resourceful! :)
She went to a lot of trouble building this wonderful nest! A nest that she feels is safe. My question is: Should I remove it? I know what it's like and how protective they get once they lay the eggs. One summer there was a baby bird nearby that left a nest and the mother would swoop down and peck at Allie whenever she went outside! I don't want that happening to my kids. I don't want them to grow up with these bad memories of mean birds! lol Remember that Alfred Hitchcock bird movie?! I remember being terrified of that movie when I was a little girl!

I've been researching robin's, and it only takes a few weeks for the eggs to hatch and not long after that the birds will vacate. I really want to keep this nest, because I think it'll be an educational experience! I want to photograph the entire process. I just figure I'll wear my hockey helmet with a caged mask outside whenever I get close! lol

So what would you do? Would you keep the nest? Chris has been trying to talk me out of it, because of birds being dirty and pooping all over the play set, but I'll go out and clean it! I just want to experience first hand this wonderful miracle!