Shot Blocker
I had to tell my son he couldn’t practice basketball in the driveway because there was a robin nesting on the back of the board, and at first he thought I was joking. I recently told my kids to watch out for mourning doves nesting in the trellis over the back gate entry we use multiple times a day. They only watch us wide eyed as we come and go, but the robins have a tendency to dive-bomb us when we walk by their nests. I now park under the net every day, just so he doesn’t absentmindedly throw a ball up as he passes by on his way home from school and accidentally scare the birds away. They have nested in the outdoor fan by our back door, and in the light next to our front door, which they quickly abandoned a week ago because of the activity on the front porch. Its become common practice in the early spring to walk out with our arm up shielding our heads from robin attacks the last couple of springs… always makes me laugh!
American Robin Nest – 2023 (Day #9 & 10)
eBird Checklists:
July 8th: https://ebird.org/checklist/S143925808
July 9th: https://ebird.org/checklist/S144120114
(Robins fledged on July 13th).
American Robin – Day 3
American Robin – Day 2
Newly Hatched Robins
Snow Geese, The Peep, Robin, Cedar waxwings.
We saw hundreds of Snow Geese. The Peep has been coming every day to eat peanut butter and attacked a robin and another young male Mockingbird that was trying to take his tree, we had a robin in our neighbor’s tree and we saw three Cedar Waxwings in The Peep’s tree.
Baby Robin
Only one robin left. I guess the others fledged already.
Robin Nestlings
Three baby robins in a pine tree.
Momma Robin Returns!
A robin just returned to use her old nest that had 4 successful fledglings. Hopefully this new clutch will be just as successful as her last!
Baby Robins
Found these photos from years ago.
Robins nest outside our stairwell at school, Odenton Elem., Odenton, Maryland
A robin built her nest on top of a light fixture outside a stairwell at our school in 2018. This location gave our students a first-hand view of the babies from eggs to fledglings.
Siblings
American Robin juveniles in my back yard.
Light sconce robins nest
This photo was taken of a robins next atop the light sconce to the left of the front door. We don’t use that door often so it was all finished with eggs in it before we even knew it was there.
Survival of the fittest
This baby robin was one of three eggs to hatch but the only survivor. Now we’re praying for a successful fledge!
Robin chicks, 5 days old
This nest is in a playground structure and it gets very hot. I’m kind of worried about how they’re doing. They were getting fed, and at least 3 of them are alive.
American Robin baby and feeding adult
American Robin about 5 days old, and adult feeding grasshopper to young Robins
New Robin Nest
This robin and her husband/wife where both running up and down the tree all day building their nest! I went to see what all the commotion was about and found this nest!
robin nest
Robin nest, one day after the fourth egg was laid.
American Robin Nest with Young
Robin Fledgling Fully Graduated
I am very pleased to announce that all four fledglings from the brood I monitored have fully “graduated” into young adulthood and are making a few appearances nearby. Nice to see this one in the woods. This one was the littlest fledgling, the one I was most worried about, but it seems to be very robust and doing well this evening. The parents were in the vicinity, yet quite distant. The fledgling flew very well from tree to tree, amazing me with how grown-up it is. I watched it groom/preen/scratch its wings and catch a bug for supper.
My, how robins develop so fast!
How did I know this was a fledgling from the brood I watched? It was the adult male watching her nearby. His markings were very tell-tale. Also this fledgling had the most white fluff and puffy breast compared to its siblings while in the nest. I would not have noticed the fledgling was there had I not stopped to photograph a garter snake on the ground closest to the tree where the father robin, nicknamed Serenade, was perched.
Mama Robin Takes a Break
A mother robin, nicknamed Serene (because she is calm, patient, and seemingly unafraid around humans), built a nest on an a/c unit across from my apartment and has become a popular “neighbor” in our neighborhood. It’s all because of her and her mate that I joined NestWatch and learned so much about urban birds. She has been so busy with her young, she’s been looking tired and dry, so it’s about time she took a nice, long, cool dip in my birdbath. We had a nice rainfall last night. By late afternoon, after one more fledgling took leave of her nest, she made frequent visits, with one last visit being just for her. She was truly in the lap of luxury. Her expressions were of pure joy, I swear.
I am very happy she didn’t mind I was close by to take photographs of her. Zoom lens or not, she stood in that birdbath for a nice while.
Midsummer’s Eve Fledglings
The robin fledglings I’ve monitored since the tail end of May are stretching their wings. The first to leave the nest was on June 19th 2014. I feared the fledglings would fall out of the nest and hit their heads on concrete sidewalk below, but they soon showed me “no worries” as they have taken to flight very quickly. The second to leave the nest is pictured perched on a cedar tree branch. I believe it was spooked out of the nest too soon, something that was unavoidable due to the very close proximity of the nest next to human dwelling — the nest was built upon an a/c unit barely 5 feet above ground level over a sidewalk frequently filled with human and canine traffic.
Great efforts to maintain the peace and quiet in the area of the nest has been trying on my neighbors, especially now as the fledglings are testing the air and everyone is anxious to see them take flight. So far we have excellent weather, no need for major use of the a/c unit, but come July that story may change. This Robin family has lucked out!
The 2nd fledgling to leave the nest is being taken care of while she stays in the cedar tree by the parent birds. I’ve seen her hop-fly upwards in little bursts of energy.
The last 2 fledglings are quite content to stay hidden in the nest. Now without their siblings, and being the littlest, they are left to develop at their own pace in a nest no longer over crowded with two fledglings far bigger than themselves.
These will be the last photographs I will take of this nest in order for the next 2 to stay in the nest until they are ready to really stretch their wings.
Crowded Robin’s Nest
My Robin neighbors’ young are quickly developing feathers. Last week they still looked like the baby from the movie “Eraserhead” but now they resemble their parents, showing more personality, curiosity, and ever more verve. It must be itchy to grow into your feathers because they are constantly picking at themselves and each other (either that or they have mites — ouch). Mom (nicknamed “Serene”) and Dad (“Serenade”) show signs of weariness as they continue to strive to meet the demands of this maturing brood.
The biggest, and perhaps the first hatched, is on the far left. I have predicted it is a “he” because each time he has stretched out his neck, he displays the brightest breast and wing feathers. He will most likely jump out of the nest first. I also thought he would be the greediest when it came to food, but from what I’ve observed, the parents go back and forth dividing food in turns. They really pay attention to details.
Another Robin Mother!
This is Other Mother, another robin mother who has nested on an a/c unit in my apartment complex facing Schmeeckle Reserve (my backyard). She does not trust me at all! So I am careful to not to alarm her again. Here she is eyeing me, her whole body on full alert, checking me out. I accidentally found her nest. I thought her nest was one abandoned by the robin who has nested across from my apartment. Nope. She has 3 eggs!
Serene Robins
My newest neighbors, a pair of American Robins, have built three different versions of nests, and despite human traffic (the noise of lawnmowers, cars, partying college students who have just graduated), they have settled on an air conditioning unit directly across from my apartment window.
They have been very easy to photograph, letting me peek into their private world without interrupting their nesting process or frightening them away. The birds are lucky to have picked a place where our backyard faces Schmeekle Reserve: http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/schmeeckle/Pages/home.aspx
The nearby University of Wisconsin — Stevens Point campus has an excellent Natural Resources department and the area students and community love our wildlife!
As of May 25th, 2014 the Robins, whom I identify as Serene (female) and Serenade (male), have two eggs in the finally finished nest.