June 29, 2013 / Leslie

Weekend Birding: Nestwatch – American Robin

Birds, Fledgling, Nest, Photography, Photos, Robins

One of the birding activities I’m involved in is Project Nestwatch, a citizen science program. It is a nationwide monitoring project designed to track status and trends of nesting birds. I try to find nests that are easy to observe and not disturb the birds. For the last few years I monitored a Barn Swallow nest in a picnic pavilion, but this year the nest was knocked down twice and finally abandoned by the birds. Most likely it was destroyed by picnickers who didn’t like birds defending their nest by swooping down at them. A lot of people don’t understand that it’s illegal to disturb an active nest and it’s a difficult law to enforce.

Last month a pair of sneaky robins built a nest in my maple tree so I had a nest to observe right outside my front door. I call them sneaky because they managed to build the nest and incubate four eggs before I noticed them! That’s three weeks of bird activity next to one of my gardens that I didn’t notice. Robins have become ubiquitous to me. I need to pay more attention to them.

My first clue that I had a robin’s nest nearby was a tiny blue eggshell on my front step and another on the back deck. When the egg hatches, the robin removes the shell from nest and deposits it away from the nest, usually about 50 feet. Once I knew there were hatchlings I watched for adult robins carrying small insects to feed the young, and observed where they went. The nest was well hidden behind large maple leaves. I couldn’t see much but I could tell there were four little beaks. Robins usually lay four eggs per clutch and will raise two or three broods per year.

Since I knew the hatch date I could calculate the date the babies would fledge and leave the nest. Baby robins stay in the nest 13 to 14 days. On day thirteen I began watching for activity but those babies were happy being fed and weren’t leaving. By the time I checked the nest the next day, two of them were already gone. The last two were thinking about it and one was venturing out on a branch. That’s him in the photo above.

The little robin’s balance wasn’t very good and he slipped from the branch and fluttered to the ground and began running. On his wobbly legs he ran through the wood chips and then onto the river rock. He doesn’t know how to fly yet, and with that tiny little tail it would be difficult to try.

Next, he ran into the grass.

The fledglings always have a look of wonder and confusion on their faces as they explore their new surroundings.

And finally he was located by dad who immediately began pulling worms from the grass and feeding him. The male takes care of the fledglings while the female attends to any young still in the nest.

Saturday Snapshot was originated by Alyce at At Home With Books. For the summer it will be hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.