Comments on: Unusual nest

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 11:20:33 +0000

She may like this location at first, build a nest, then abandon it without laying eggs. The biggest reason for doing this would be fear of predation. Something scary may show up every year as she nears nest completion.
Robins usually build a new nest for every brood (sometimes on top of an old nest)and they can be very quick about it. The first nest may take 1-2 weeks to build but subsequent nests can take as little as 2-3 days.
Mate: There are so many robins it’s unlikely she doesn’t have a mate, at least not for long.

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 11:14:13 +0000

Hi Kate, Love your daily entries. Question on robin behavior. A robin has built a nest in a tree outside our window each year for the past three years then never uses it. Could this be an instinctive thing and she may not conceive or not have a mate?

By: Angie

Angie — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:59:56 +0000

Kate – every year we have multiple robin’s nests in the rafters of our deck…and it seems every year a baby falls out. I put on gloves and try to put the baby back in the nest, is this the right thing to do? Last year I think the little one survived, but this year’s fallen baby was a bit bigger (no feather yet but the size of a hockey puck). I put him back in the nest and he was alive but a day later, my husband found him in the yard about 10 feet away from the nest, dead. Do the robin parents throw sick/dead babies out of the nest? I’m hoping it was the parents and not my dogs who decided to relocate another fallen baby.

Final question, I didn’t realize they raised two or more broods per season…do they use the same nest? Would another momma take over an old nest or do they always build new?

Thanks in advance for reading all of my silly questions. I’m trying to be a good hostess for all of my robins, much to the dismay of my husband and our dogs.

By: Elspeth

Elspeth — Mon, 31 May 2010 20:16:49 +0000

Kate – we have a robin’s nest on a ladder strung up under our deck. I will try to get a picture. Two babies have left the nest and now there is another egg. I think you said that they an have 2 or more broods in the one season.