We built a deep bird box in the garden a few years ago and only this month it caught the interest of Mr & Mrs Robin. The birds were doing so well, and it was an infinite source of joy for me and my husband to keep track of the progress. However, an uninvited guess (a cat) killed the three baby robins and so the story doesn't have a happy ending. I have many questions and was wondering if I could get any answers from the experts.
1) The next is very deep, but the Robins filled it up so that the nest was very close to the entrance (which eventually gave access to the cat's paw), isn't that counterintuitive? did the Robins made a mistake and would they learn for the next brood, or is that natural? In any case, we're planning on adding a chicken wire "tunnel" to the entrance to limit the reach of any kind of paws in the future, in case the box is re-used.
2) What's happening to the parents? I'm very curious to know what would they be expected to do now, would they be starting to build another nest, would they be taking a break, or would the be looking for a different partner? what happens after an unsuccessful brood?
3) I've emptied the next as recommended in various sites, is there any chance at all they will come back to this box? or could it be used by other birds, or should we just give up and remove it altogether?
Thanks
Sorry to read this. Happens across the country so often.
1) Robins like to look out of nest sites. They prefer 'open fronted' boxes, when they use boxes. Not convinced a tunnel is going to work. More likely to end up with blue or great tits using it, or maybe sparrows, depending on height and location.
2) Robins will keep trying at this time of year. Sometimes even in a similar location.
3) Please can you provide links to sites that recommend emptying nests out of boxes in May? Re using the box again, almost certainly not now until next year. If the nest remained in place, it is possible robins would try again. Has been known, despite failing the first time.
Thanks for your response. So let me break that down:
1) If the tunnel is unlikely to work, is there any other way to protect the box from nasties? I guess any bird is welcome so if we end up with sparrows or tits, that's also very lovely, but it'll be good to know how to make it better to improve the chances of success for the birds.
3) Thanks for this, there are lots of forums that mention Robins are unlikely to re-use the same nest and instead build a new one (arkwildlife being one of them). Hence the thought of clearing it to help them or another bird settle. However, it sounds like that was the wrong move, so I've learnt my lesson for next time. Just leave it alone. Thanks.
Thanks. I didn't find the bit on arkwildlife, but obviously accept it's there somewhere. No one,incl them, should be suggesting nests are cleared prior to end of Summer.
Re robins, we had 3 successful broods in one nestbox in one year. They definitely do nest in the same place, if successful.
Re stopping cats, very hard. Someone posted a commentary about how they believe they stopped magpies even while the nest was active. Definitely not good to be attaching stuff to nestboxes while they're in use. For cats, I'd try and make the box harder to find, or create obstructions on the approach to it, or make it out of reach. A combination would be best, but I know it's not always possible to achieve any of those.
Just an update as it seems appropriate. I've been avoiding the side of the house the robins nest on as there's been a great tit nest in the box about 6 feet from it. As I think that failed a few days ago, I've walked around the side and can see robin chicks looking out their box.....same nest, same run down nest box, and unless they cleared it themselves, some of the same nesting material as last year and year before that.