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Robins and Fledging Behavior
Name: Sandy
Status: N/A
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
We had a nest on a low branch in a tree and were delighted to
watch the eggs hatch and the baby birds were starting to grow and get
few feathers. The nest is now empty and the mother bird does not return.
There is no evidence of "foul play" from another creature- no feathers-
bones, fur etc. Could the mother robin have relocated her babies? What
do the babies, how developed are the baby robins when they go off on
their own?
Replies:
If the robin nestlings were not mature enough to fly, it can be assumed that the
nest witnessed foul play by a predator or human. There are several predatory
possibilities including raptors (owls or hawks), raccoons, cats, and others
depending on your exact location. Robins often choose nest sites on limbs too
weak for raccoons and cats. Several predators would consume the chicks whole so
no feathers would be seen, but feathers are usually present if a natural predator
is involved. Human interference in capture may leave little signs. Of course we
do not know for sure what happened.
The female robin could not have moved the chicks to a different location. However,
adult robins will try to detour predators from their nest site if they can by using
a fake injury behavior as if the females wing was broken, or make a lot of noise
and lead the animal away from the nest. Females will even remove the egg shells
after hatching to a far away location and collect the fecal pouches the young
deposit and drop them far from the nest site. Both of these behaviors are to
avoid detection of the nest site. Yes, the young birds deposit their waste in
little pouches!
If the birds were mature, the fledglings would have stayed near the nest tree
being fed by the parents for the first day so you would have noticed them I am
pretty certain, unless their is significant places to hide. The parents would
led them to a safe location. The chicks leave at different times for they
rarely develop at the same rate so a quickly empty nest is suspect. They would
be seen following one of the parents around begging for food until the parents
stop responding to their food requests and they are then on their own. Young
robins have a distinct speckled breast that adults do not show.
Steve Sample
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Update: June 2012
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