Turdus migratorius
Lisa writes: The robins are back! We're not sure if this is the same pair or not. It was supposed to be Tom's job to draw the Sharpie mohawk on their heads.* After the first batch of babies flew away last month, we just left the nest in the hanging plant. It was a conversation piece. But this morning, Tom looked out the bathroom window and saw an adult sitting in the nest, turning around and around like she was sizing it up. I checked the nest after she left and there was new grass lining the bottom. It looks like we're going to have another batch of babies! But, wait, do robins have more than one litter clutch a year?
Quick, Robin! To the Internet!
Mating season from April to September. Will often choose the same mate year after year. Robins will reuse nests from the previous year, sometimes building another nest on top of the old one. The female makes the nest in 2-6 days. First clutch is laid in April or May, between 2 to occasionally 7 eggs. Incubation is 12 days. Nesting is 13-16 days. The young are fed an average of 100 meals a day, mostly before noon. When the fledglings leave the nest, the father takes full charge of the brood and stays with the young for another week or two. Meanwhile, the female prepares for a second brood, building or repairing the nest. The next clutch may be started about 40 days after the first egg of the year, sometimes with three clutches in a year. Article here.
Excellent baby pics here.
* Inside joke. My little sister, Debbie, is currently working on a wildlife project where they catch and weigh bats to track the health of the colony. Before they release each bat, they mark its head with a permanent marker stripe -- a mohawk, she calls it -- to make sure they're not just catching the same slow bat over and over again.
Quick, Robin! To the Internet!
Mating season from April to September. Will often choose the same mate year after year. Robins will reuse nests from the previous year, sometimes building another nest on top of the old one. The female makes the nest in 2-6 days. First clutch is laid in April or May, between 2 to occasionally 7 eggs. Incubation is 12 days. Nesting is 13-16 days. The young are fed an average of 100 meals a day, mostly before noon. When the fledglings leave the nest, the father takes full charge of the brood and stays with the young for another week or two. Meanwhile, the female prepares for a second brood, building or repairing the nest. The next clutch may be started about 40 days after the first egg of the year, sometimes with three clutches in a year. Article here.
Excellent baby pics here.
* Inside joke. My little sister, Debbie, is currently working on a wildlife project where they catch and weigh bats to track the health of the colony. Before they release each bat, they mark its head with a permanent marker stripe -- a mohawk, she calls it -- to make sure they're not just catching the same slow bat over and over again.
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