Any bird brains out there?

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USA70PP

Well-known member
I have a question maybe someone out there can answer.
For the past five years or so we have had a Robin build a nest on the ledge over the French doors leading from the porch to the front room. We watch her as she and daddy feed the little ones and work with them until they go off on their own. Last year was the first time we noticed it and again this year the mother has returned to what we assume is an empty nest. Does anyone have any ideas on this?
 
 
Will a particular bird return to the same spot year after year? Yes.

Will robins reuse an old nest? Yes.

Anything else? ?
 
From the internet-
Mother robins may start incubating their eggs during the evening after the second egg is laid, or after all the eggs are laid. They sit on the eggs for 12 to 14 days. The female usually does all the incubating. Even in good weather, she rarely leaves her eggs for more than 5 to 10 minutes at a time.
 
I would question if it was the same bird, dpending on the life span of the robin. I have had doves build a nest in the same place on my patio beam for nine years. I just know it can't have been the same bird.
 
USA70PP said:
I figured that, but can she have babies that close together? Within a couple weeks?
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A robin will lay 2-3 clutches of eggs each season. It takes about 2 weeks for robin eggs to hatch and another two weeks for the birds to fledge at which point she will soon lay more eggs.
 
chs,
The second clutch has hatched. After they fly off should we expect a third or would that be overdoing it?
 
Breeding season for robins is April to July, so yeah, a third clutch is possible.

Are they using the same nest? Robins will "improve" the nest for each clutch, sometimes building a whole new nest on top of the old one. Or they will relocate and build a new nest.
 
chs1971 said:
Breeding season for robins is April to July, so yeah, a third clutch is possible.

Are they using the same nest? Robins will "improve" the nest for each clutch, sometimes building a whole new nest on top of the old one. Or they will relocate and build a new nest.
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They've used the same nest both times. The way they built it top start it was good sized to begin with. We'll see if we get more.
 
chs1971 said:
Not really, but I know enough to know where to look or who to ask when I have a question.
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Ha, to me you are. My bird story is a robin somehow got in our basement and our cat found it. I came downstairs one morning and it looked like a Manson family murder scene.
 
Being home much more now I have seen quite a few birds I hadnt seen here before

A few Orioles are in the hood and also some blue jays.
I am thinking about putting up some sort of bird feeder moving forward
 
thavoice said:
Being home much more now I have seen quite a few birds I hadnt seen here before

A few Orioles are in the hood and also some blue jays.
I am thinking about putting up some sort of bird feeder moving forward
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If you are still seeing orioles they like oranges (cut in half) and grape jelly.

We had four pair of orioles in our yard two weeks ago but they are gone They frequently nest in or near cottonwood trees and there are none around us.
 
eastside_purple said:
Ha, to me you are. My bird story is a robin somehow got in our basement and our cat found it. I came downstairs one morning and it looked like a Manson family murder scene.
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It's estimated that domesticated cats kill 2.4 billion birds in the US every year.

This number is likely as accurate as all the coronavirus models.
 
chs1971 said:
If you are still seeing orioles they like oranges (cut in half) and grape jelly.

We had four pair of orioles in our yard two weeks ago but they are gone They frequently nest in or near cottonwood trees and there are none around us.
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For Orioles, do not put anything like grape jelly out for the entire month of June. The reason is that they need to be feeding insects to there young and not being tempted by the jelly. Jelly does not provide the protein that the chicks need, unlike insects which does.
 
It's as if some birds or animals pass on their natural nesting places/homes to their offspring through some type of genetic coce. In my case on the opposite ends of my patioI have two bat roosts. They're not large in number but they put out an incradible amount of bat crap every night. I have been told that the bats stay here in Arizona in the summer months but in the fall they migrate to caves in Mexico to mate. But each spring the bats or their offspring come back and roost in the same place.
 
arizonawildcat said:
It's as if some birds or animals pass on their natural nesting places/homes to their offspring through some type of genetic coce. In my case on the opposite ends of my patioI have two bat roosts. They're not large in number but they put out an incradible amount of bat crap every night. I have been told that the bats stay here in Arizona in the summeronths but in the fall they migrate to caves in Mexico to mate. But each spring the bats or their offspring come back and roost in the same place.
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When the wife was teaching Russian at DLI monarch butterflies were all over Pacific Grove. The best time was early morning at a Grove outside of San Jose. When the sun got up in the sky a little it was like a lid was pulled off the Grove and monarchs by the thousands exploded into the air. They too winter in Mexico.
 
NothingButTheTruth said:
For Orioles, do not put anything like grape jelly out for the entire month of June. The reason is that they need to be feeding insects to there young and not being tempted by the jelly. Jelly does not provide the protein that the chicks need, unlike insects which does.
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Orioles know what to feed their young without having humans decide for them. Every summer orioles switch from nectar and ripening fruits to insects. A little grape jelly isn't going to change nature.

I understand that others have differing opinions.
 
USA70PP said:
When the wife was teaching Russian at DLI monarch butterflies were all over Pacific Grove. The best time was early morning at a Grove outside of San Jose. When the sun got up in the sky a little it was like a lid was pulled off the Grove and monarchs by the thousands exploded into the air. They too winter in Mexico.
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In Monterray?
 
thavoice said:
In Monterray?
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Yes, Monterey. When the wall came down there wasn't as big a demand for East European language instruction and she retired. After 12 years in West Berlin she went to Monterey and then we returned to Mayberry.
 
chs1971 said:
It's estimated that domesticated cats kill 2.4 billion birds in the US every year.

This number is likely as accurate as all the coronavirus models.
Click to expand...
We have a few different bird feeders in our backyard, but one of the drawbacks is the site attracts a variety of cats from the neighborhood who are in search of a meal themselves.

Credit to one of the cats though who I believe is responsible for killing a skunk. I discovered a cat reeking of skunk and later found the skunk's remains where I suspect the cat cornered it b/w a wood pile and a fence and overcame the skunk's defenses and prevailed. I'm not sure what other animal in these parts could have done the deed.
 
The second clutch is about ready to leave the nest. Now we wait to see if there will be a third.
 
chs1971 said:
A little, yeah.
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Do you know how long before fledgings leave the nest? Had a nest across street with babies in it but was blown down during windstorm.

1591354098391.png
 
ogealbhain said:
Do you know how long before fledgings leave the nest? Had a nest across street with babies in it but was blown down during windstorm.

View attachment 7525
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According to the Cornell Lab 6-7 weeks. Another source says as little as 5 weeks.

www.allaboutbirds.org

Red-shouldered Hawk Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Whether wheeling over a swamp forest or whistling plaintively from a riverine park, a Red-shouldered Hawk is typically a sign of tall woods and water. It’s one of our most distinctively marked common hawks, with barred reddish-peachy underparts and a strongly banded tail. In flight, translucent...
www.allaboutbirds.org www.allaboutbirds.org
 
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