Baby Robin Popping Up

by Bladdem
(Ct)

A Robin built a nest in our archway over our gated entrance..right at head level.

We were able to watch all stages of its life till all four flew away.

We had a runt that stayed behind, but on day two he joined the others.

Robin Fights for Jelly

by Joanne Knox
(Muskego, WI, USA )

About a year ago I got pulled into bird watching because a number of my good friends could quickly call off all sorts of bird names, colors, tell me where to find them, and what their particular song sounded like.

I was fascinated and perhaps just a bit jealous. I've never really gone "bird watching" but have found that sitting on my screen porch any time of the day would net me sightings from blue herons to pelicans, orioles to grackles and recently, ROBINS and Downy woodpeckers fighting over my oriole orange and grape jelly feeder.

As I sat there the other day watching a really big robin chase off a not so big oriole as it tried to get some of the sweet grape nectar.

I began to wonder if I had a mutant robin. Don't they eat worms? Maybe he was mistaking the grape jelly for plum sauce to go with his worm tartar?

Next thing I know, there is a Downy woodpecker watching this whole thing. Seems he didn't care much about the jelly, he wanted the bright, juicy oranges that hung just over the jelly dispenser ...and there was no competition.

I consulted your website to help me understand my robin's behavior. Now that I know they also eat berries, I realize that I've made their food foraging quite easy and I know I don't have a mutant robins, albeit militant ones!

One problem remains. I don't know how to deal with the fact that I would rather see the orioles at my feeder, than I would the robins.

Guess the best thing to do is keep feeding whoever comes and enjoy the acrobatics of the woodpecker hanging upside down off his favorite suspended orange half.

Cirque du Soleil

by Patty
(Spokane)

Dear Gene,

I attached a recent picture of the babies for your pleasure and a photo of Mom and Dad bathing together between feedings. There are three babies.

A tiny one's head pops up when Mom flies in to feed them. I also could write you a story about the family of goldfinches that return every year to my garden (9 of them last September).

You don't have any stories about your signature bird for your website. I call this photo "Cirque du Soleil" as Daddy Goldfinch is an acrobat on the sunflower.

I plant black oil sunflower seeds so when the seeds are ready the whole family returns to harvest and entertain us.

The rest of the summer they enjoy eating beet greens (photo #4). For the past 3 summers Dad has taught his new family members the pleasure of eating beet greens. Mom eats them, too!

Bay and her baby Robins

by Dorothy DeMario
(Pennsylvania )

I noticed a Red Robin, building a nest, under the deck in my back yard.

She's been here for months, so I decided to name her Bay.....Finally today when I looked to check on her I saw the mouth of a baby Robin..... How beautiful.

I'm just not sure if I should put bread crumbs outside or water or maybe nothing. I'd love to help little Bay and her babies, but I don't want to do any harm. Any suggestions????

The Kelly Babies 2018 Spring Edition

by Gigi kelly
(South Park Pa USA)

Four times a very persistent momma bird attempted to make her nest on our front window sill. One day we were gone all day and we came home it was a full nest, mudded and attached to our screen. Her persistence was admirable.

3 days later, she laid 2...2 days later she laid another...and the next day one more😳so crowded...my mum brain began to panic! 13 days we had 2 lil birdosaurs🦖🦖hatch and mom and dad are very attentive...baby 3 🦖came today....praying Little #4🦖birdosaurus hatches soon.

Pretty great treat we are having, getting to watch this. We have had babies over the years fall and have broken necks....it’s awful😞so it’s a two story drop to the driveway so I put a sling type hammock with a soft sheet and a cushy old coat on the ground under it.

On the trunk of the car I’ve been leaving a dish of water and plates of fruit, cranberries, blueberries, grapes and apples and mom and dad seem to have been eating and drinking.

Our dog lays in the window staring at the birds eye to eye...... it’s really pretty amazing....not looking forward to the fledglings 😳

A ladder is Fair Game for this Momma

by Amy LaViolette
(Worcester, Massachusetts)

Robins Have Built Nest on Ladder

Obviously, living in Massachusetts, we see Robins all year long. We've had a fair amount of nests in the trees around my house and my yard.

Last year, a Robin built her nest two feet from my door and she complained every time I walked outside or came back in.

I would tell her to hush and eventually, we shared the space, she'd just sit on her eggs while I was on my porch reading.

She also was a blessing in the form of a spider eater, since spiders seem to love my door and porch. She was well-fed last year.

This year, one Momma Robin chose the ladder hanging on the side of the house under the porch.

She and Dad would dive-bomb me as I would walk up the driveway to get to my car but I'd just tell them to shush, I wasn't hurting their babies.

My sister Jeanne and I were able to capture some great pictures while Mom & Dad were out hunting for food.

They definitely keep track and monitor anyone or anything walking by their brood.

This particular brood never peeped, we saw them starting to flap their wings and one day the nest was just empty.

We have feral cats in the field behind the house and we've seen a group of four or five Robins congregating in the same area so I'm hoping they survived.

Robin on the Edge

by Debra Glass
(Dayton, Ohio USA)

My little robin spent a day perfecting her nest. Her 1 egg appeared 2 hours later. She left the nest for the day and reappeared the next morning.

I saw her peck open the egg and eat it, shell and all. I was devastated!

She returned 2 hours later to lay another egg! Now she is sitting on the nest. This nest is perched on my 3 inch window sill.

I have a bird's eye view! She is definitely on the edge! Is this typical?

Last Season's Carport Pets

by Josh Orlean
(Huntington, NY, USA)

My wife and I live on Long Island (NY). We have a house with a carport. Last year, for convenience sake, I hung our longest ladder horizontally on hooks in the carport. My wife didn't want me to do that for fear that she would bump her head.

Last April I noticed a birds nest on the ladder. I never thought I would be so excited about birds. I never went on a birdwatcher field trip.

I've had two close-up encounters with birds. One was not very good so I do not count myself as a fan.

But here I was as excited as possible. I would sneak up to our kitchen window regularly hoping to sneak a peak at them.

Mostly, I would see the parents building the nest. Then I started to see the heads of the baby birds reaching out to get food from their parents.

I have a great photo that I hope I can share here. It's a photo I took just before they flew away.

One day I came out to take another photo and the nest was gone. When they flew away, it fell to the ground.

I now know they are Robins. So a year has passed and I regularly look at our ladder hoping they would return. And they have.

I have grabbed another ladder to climb up and take new photos. This new nest is much deeper and harder to see in side.

Could my excitement and climbing near to the nest have scared them away. This morning I quietly walked to the kitchen window hoping to catch the parents in the act. I have not seen them.

I hope I did not scare them away.

Peace Sign Robins

by John Ryan
(Warsaw NY )

I have had a peace sign made from grape vines on the side of my garage for years, which is lit with Christmas lights at night. In early June I had a pair of Robins flattening a side of the peace sign.

I thought they were just eating insects on it, so I pushed it back into more of a circle. They came back a few days later and flattened again and started building a nest. Soon we had 4 little blue eggs in the nest which I can look into from a six foot ladder.

Soon we had three baby birds, it appears one didn't make it. It will be 2 weeks tomorrow the first was born and they are flapping their wings often and being feed plenty of protein (big juicy worms and other insects) from both parents.

I even have the Mother coming to my Oriole feeder eating the grape jelly.

Both parents are vigorously defending the nest and young from other birds and squirrels coming to close to them. They should be flying the nest here in a few more days. Good luck to them!

People Watching

by Lori Pritchett
(Buffalo Grove, IL, USA)

We have been stalked for 5 or 6 days now by a Robin!

We think it is a male, so it doesn't appear to be about a nest. We live in an apt. next to a golf course, so we know why he is near...he enjoys pulling up worms on the course in the early morning.

But what is strange is that he lands on our deck and looks into our house. He acts as if he wants to come inside! He has a pattern of looking into our sliding glass door, then hopping onto a chair to look at us, then sitting on our deck railing. Sometimes he will repeat the pattern, or fly away.

My boyfriend named him Eddie. What does Eddie want from us? I love watching him watch us, except for the fact that he is pooping all over the place!
Yes...this is not bird watching...it is people watching! :)

PS: He is watching me as I type this!!!

Robins Under the Rafters

by Peg Lessard
(Catonsville, MD USA)

This is my second spring here and the second time a robin (same one?) has built her nest under my deck rafters.

I will lose both nests after this season now that I know about the parasites.

I never saw the babies last year, but this year, the nest is facing a small window and within a zoom lens away.

I try to be discreet so as not to distract the attentive mother bird. However, I think she is on to me.

Robins Nest On Top of Light.

by Carmen and Kim
(West Seneca, NY)

A pair of robins built a nest on top of our outside light to the left of our garage back door.

There were 4 eggs in the nest and after about 14 days they hatched. There are at least 3 babies in the nest now.

My wife and I did not think they would make it because every time we went out the door to enter our backyard or let our dog out they would fly off the nest.

We are worried that when the fledglings fly down they may be harmed if we don't see them and let the dog out into the yard.

She is an 8-year-old German Shepherd and although very friendly, she does like to chase things.

Is there anything we can do to help keep the young birds safe?

We have to let the dog use the fenced backyard. How long does it take before they are able to fly out of harm's way?

From: www.Wild-Bird-Watching.com
It can take 14 - 16 days after hatching before the young leave the nest.

Depending on what is around will determine if the fledglings will be safe or not. If trees and shrubs are close by they should be able to hide there.

Often young Robins end up in the middle of the yard. This is where people make the mistake of thinking the bird is abandoned and bring them inside separating them from their parents.

My suggestion would be to carefully check before letting the dog out. First to see if the birds are still in the nest. If so, no problem.

If you notice they are gone from the nest, either take the time to walk out before the dog or use a leash.

For the most part, once the young fledge they'll be out of your yard within a day.

Gene
wild-bird-watching.com

Wicker Table Robin Nest

by Sandee
(Sellersburg, IN, USA)

We swept away straw that she was building her first nest with but then she came back and started over so we didn't have the heart to destroy it because of her determination. We will watch as she raises her babies.

Bad luck Robins.

by Shawna
(Calgary Canada)

I have a pair of robins that like to nest at the front of our house.

They set up in one of two places at the front of our house One is a cow skull by our stair case to the front on the house, the other is over the light in the corner right by our front door.

Over the years they seem to prefer setting up on the light which is not convenient for us.

I have tried to make my presence known by using the front door more often when I notice them come back in the spring to make them not want to set up their nest in that particular spot but it does not seem to work.

I like them being around but not startling me or guests when they are only feet from your head when the robin flies out of the nest to the lilac bush only a couple feet away to squawk at you angrily.

I am wondering if they would they stick around if I made a barricade around our light to prevent them nesting in that particular spot?

I just might see if I can find a nice nesting shelf and place it in a better spot so everyone can be happy.

My second question is in regards to their babies.

I had noticed I was not seeing the parents around as much lately but figured the babies were probably too big for the mom to sit in the nest and I just didn't see them hanging out in the nearby trees.

But when my sister was over the other day she went out our front door and I instantly noticed a bad smell with led me to a terrible assumption causing me to investigate.

So I jumped up on our hand rail so I could get my head up to the nest level and sure enough I could see a couple dead babies and no other movement in the nest.

So I got in there and pulled out the very stinky nest which was really wedged in the corner over the light and much thicker than I expected it to be!

When I hauled out the nest I was sad to see 5 dead babies! They were large and their wings were feathered so I would have expected them to be leaving the nest soon!

My roommate said he picked up a dead one off the side walk already only a few days prior so they had quite the full nest, 6 in total.

I am trying to figure out what could have caused the babies to die! I made sure the light was not turned on as to not over heat the nest or cause it to catch fire.

I stopped using the front door with the exception of the odd guest coming over or leaving. I was constantly seeing the parents with worms in their mouths nearby so they were doing a good job feeding them.

Could one baby have died and the smell caused the parents to not return to the nest?

The day after I removed the nest I saw what looked like the female sitting back where the nest used to be which broke my heart!

I know that at least one of the two parents are still around and they did not die leaving their babies behind. They were so close to leaving the nest!

I seems like these robins have had lots of bad luck over the years. We pick up 3-4 dead babies each year off the side walk or stairs but they have never been as developed as all the ones in this nest!

Is there anything I can do to help these guys out!
I was glad to read that they can nest more than once in a season so my fingers are crossed they still have a chance for a second go for raising some babies. (they have never set up more than one nest here before but maybe they will this year! Fingers crossed!).

From Wild-Bird-Watching.com
Robins usually don't use the same nest in the same season but will return to the same location the following Spring.

There are several things that could have cause the death of your baby birds. Mites can kill baby birds and are more problematic in wet Springs. Other parasites can cause problems also.

Other birds may be pulling young from the nest, which may be why you find them on the sidewalk. Crows, Grackles, and Bluejays are just a few birds that eat the young of other birds.

Putting something around the light will keep them from nesting there but they may not choose your nesting shelf. You just have to decide to take the chance.

Thank you for your story submission.

Gene
www.wild-bird-watching.com

Two Robins sharing Crackers

by Nancy
(Pennsylvania )

It seems the robins enjoy RITZ crackers as much as I do.

They come within four feet of my chair to have their snack.