[Doody]

It started on Saturday. A big fat robin kept landing on the railing on my deck. I could see her go back and forth to that spot all day. She seemed to be staring at a small artificial Christmas tree that I had set out there after Christmas. I hadn't put it away because there was always snow blocking my garden shed door.

Sunday morning I went outside to get the Sunday paper. Lo and behold, I saw the beginning of a nest in that little artificial tree! Throughout the day I saw the chubby robin fly back and forth, always with something new in her mouth for the nest.

By Monday morning it was nearly complete but today she is still bringing stuff for her nest. I have NO idea where the muddy looking liner comes from...how do they do that?

Well, guess I'll have to leave that artificial Christmas tree out for awhile.
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[Kitty]

It's amazing how birds can construct such an intricate nest. Bless you for letting her use your tree.
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[mrsD]

Oh, that is funny. I've heard that robins build more than one nest...and that the immature ones help build them too.

Yep, you're a good soul if you leave it. The bird may not use it tho, so don't be offended.

Our mail carrier told me a funny story. She pulled up to her house (in the country) and a robin started building a nest on one of the tires. Later that day she removed it, and the next day there was another one on it! I call that fast work! LOL

[Doody]

LOL okay, I won't be offended if she doesn't use it Mrs. D. Though, I do worry about any roaming cats because they could easily get to her nest where it is.

Wish I was savvy enough to have a web cam and set it up out there. Check out this really neat video of a robin nest in someone's hanging plant.
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[mrsD]

I think Robins typically build close to the ground. Their chicks tend to fall out of the nest before they can fly.

UpNorth we always find nests low in bushes, fallen branches and last year on a window sill of one of the cousins' cabins.

In fact Oreo has come home zooming down the path chased by an irate Robin more than once up there!

[Doody]

Ah, just found something on someone's web page about the nest building.

Female Robin continues to work on nest, alternating with sticks, grass and mud. The female uses her bill and feet to weave the nest from coarse grasses, sticks, stems, and string. She then uses her body to compress the mud, smoothing and shaping it with her breast. The male Robin helps very little if at all with the nest building.

[Doody]

After a LONG wait, the robin finally came back. I hadn't seen her since she built the nest. This weekend, on Saturday, she was back! My grandson and I were sitting in the living room watching a movie, when we suddenly noticed her (through the window) sitting in the nest.

Since Saturday, she's laid 4 eggs!

Wow, I just realized I first posted about this on April 19! Hmm, wonder if it's the same robin? What do you think?
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[mrsD]

Great pictures! How exciting! Try not to disturb her.. But I think robins like to build near people.

You might get some nice photos along the way with this situation!

The robin who built on the cousins window sill, abandoned her nest when they arrived for the summer.
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Animals up there are less used to people.

Yours may stay on and raise her brood!

[winic1]

We have a big green,fake wreath on the side of the house. Leave it up all year because of the birds. Usually it's been house finches nesting in it, but twice we've had robins nest and raise a family. The second year, she built a new nest layered right on top of the old one she had built the year before. This year, we took the nests out. Between the finches and the robins, and the spiders and dust and bird poop and all, it needed a cleaning, badly. Plus, last year, Mrs Robin nabbed a stray paper towel from the yard or roadside somewhere and incorporated it into her nest, so we had this ratty dirty paper towel hanging out of our wreath all year. So far this year, we just seem to have the house finches nesting, perhaps the robins were upset that they couldn't simply add on, and would have to start from scratch?

Just so you know, we've seen the robins lay up to 7 eggs, then kept finding a few dumped out down onto the ground. We put them back a couple of times (nature center said it was okay to do) but she just kept knocking them out. When babies hatched, it was obvious 7 would have been WAY too many. We think there were 4 hatched, but suddenly one day there were only 3. Which grew until they were so big they could barely fit up there, until one day they were gone and the nest was empty. Baby robins and parents were seen around the yard for quite a few weeks, first pretty much just on the ground, then in the lower bushes, then higher, then "gone". Not really gone, just indistinguishable from the adult robins in the area, as we had an abnormally high number of robins hanging around.

It's very cool.

[Doody]

Woo hoo! 2 baby robins hatched during the night!