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Turdus migratorius
American robin brooding in her nest, built fairly low to the ground in a small maple tree ... robins seem to tolerate people at closer distances than many other birds. Second and third photos show closer look at nest construction.
Spotted on May 22, 2014
Submitted on May 22, 2014
7 Comments
I'll have to read up some more. I hope I didn't disturb her ... when I took the photos, I wasn't any closer than the general foot traffic around the tree. I wish I had paid more attention to what kind of bird carried the egg off ... I kind of assumed it was a robin, I think I would have recognized jays or crows, and a kestrel would have been really striking. Must. Read. More. Thanks again, Hema!
I did say cowbird. Disregard that. Cowbirds do not bother robins. But Jays,Crows,Kestrels etc do.
Thank you, Hema, that was very informative ... much to consider.
The female robin can not carry the eggs once they are laid
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/zo...
You mean, maybe it wasn't a robin I saw fly away with the egg?
Cowbirds?
Something unfortunate happened in this nest, built in a high-traffic area, I think. Maybe PN bird experts can tell me more. A few days after this photo was taken, I saw a robin fly away from this nest with something round-ish and blue in her beak. On inspection, where she dropped it nearby, it was an egg, cracked along a circle toward the top, with a baby bird inside. Not living. I thought perhaps mama bird had taken this one egg away because it was compromised in some way. Maybe. But within a couple of days, this nest appeared completely abandoned. Other robins in my world still appear to be raising hatchlings. Anything in those observations suggest what might have gone wrong?