The Craftiest Workshop

We have a few robin pairs in our yard.
One pair decided to build a nest in the far corner of our carport shelter next to the workshop.

The other pair chose a more precarious location.
I was wandering about checking on my fairy garden and passed by the trailer being stored near the garage. A robin flew out from under the trailer in front of me. I glanced over and sure enough I could see a nest sitting on top of the wheel.

This was just a week after the trailer had been in use so they build fairly quickly.

I did some research and discovered that once the nest was done, the mother robin would take just a few days to lay the eggs and then it would be 12-14 days before the eggs would hatch. I wasn’t sure the next time the trailer would be slept in or moved so I decided to chance it and leave the nest. I glanced at the nest a few times over the next ten days and could see eggs in it.

On Friday, the owners came to get the trailer to take camping. I put on some gloves to quickly move the nest. The robins had been watching me closely every time I was over by the nest so I thought they would see where I moved it. There was mud as the base layer so I had to get a pry bar to get it off the tire. I only walked about twenty steps to put the nest behind a chest that is being used as a planter. The chest is sitting on two cinder blocks and there was room on the block for the nest with the chest lid for some protection.

As soon as the trailer drove away I watched from the window as the robins hopped around where the nest had been, chirping anxiously. They pecked around near the new location and even sat on top of the chest a few times but sadly, they didn’t return to the nest.

Later that day I saw them again near the woodpile, most likely scouting out a location for their next nest. Robins will nest and have up to three broods in the spring. This nest of four eggs was most likely the first brood; the later broods tend to have less eggs.

Having robins nearby had me searching online to learn about them.

Why did the robin see me no matter where I approached from?

They have 340° peripheral vision because their eyes are on the sides of their heads.

Could the robin smell my scent on the nest?

Robins have a very poor sense of smell. Them not returning to the nest may have been that they did not think the new location was the right or safest place…nothing to do with smell. Another reason might be that hooking up the trailer took awhile and the mother may have been off the eggs too long. Historically, Robins rarely stay with a moved nest.

How much time does the mother sit on the eggs?

50 minutes out of every hour. That is why she was stressed whenever I spent any time nearby.

Where do robins spend their winter?

Robins fly south after they are done brooding. They will roost in groups of normally 20-200 robins and sometimes in groups with other birds in the 1,000’s.

We have a few Yellow Warblers and Bohemian or Cedar Waxwings in our yard that are new birds to me. I have figured out which is their individual song so I look for them when I hear it.

We also have a Pileated Woodpecker; it tried to peck a hole in the Hardie Board siding on our house the other day…that was loud.

I love that you can always learn something new when observing birds and animals in their natural habitat.