Abandoned Robin’s nest?

[Spotty-ewe]

Hello fellow Lupies, I was extremely surprised to find a nest in our ornamental coconut bird feeder hanging outside our shed and I wanted to share my discovery with you. When I looked closer I was even more surprised to see 4 eggs in the nest and another just outside the nest in the foreground of the photo.

You’ll see from the extra photo below that the bird feeder (which we don’t use as we have a large bird feeding station in another part of the garden) is very exposed so it seems a strange place to have built a nest. I looked in my birds nests and eggs book and the size and form of the nest as well as the size and colour of eggs suggest they are those of a robin. I have never seen a bird of any description around the entrance to the shed this year, so I’m assuming it has been abandoned. However I’ve left it there in a vain hope the nest builder will return.

[Spotty-ewe]

As you will see the ornamental bird feeder on which the robin has built its nest is very exposed and right next to the shed door. The coconut bird house to the left of the photo housed the wrens nest last year from which all the chicks successfully fledged and just in time. Why just in time? Well a woodpecker came and destroyed a wasp nest in another coconut bird house just out of the picture to the right so would no doubt have eaten the poor wren chicks too. Wasps attempted to build in the coconut used by the wrens last year as it has a smaller hole, but the woodpecker again destroyed it before it was even complete! So this might have contributed to the robin’s decision to abandon her nest and eggs, or as hubby said it could be that poor Mrs Robin was herself predated away from the nest, although Mr Robin tends to feed Mrs while she’s sitting, so unlikely. Another of nature’s mysteries. The eggs look distinctly more white with the rusty brown spots in reality than they appear in the photo, so seemed to match the robin’s eggs in my book. But if anybody has any other suggestions, I’d love to hear.Hoping you are all enjoying this wonderful weather. I’m enjoying the shade of our garden with a lovely refreshing breeze.

Love and hugs. Xx

Open bird feeder on front of the shed.

[CecilyParsley]

Wow, I know knotting about birds but I am sure the lovely people here will offer info and advice xxx

[Spotty-ewe in reply to CecilyParsley]

Yes, it will be interesting to hear what the others say. According to the descriptions and pictures in my book it seems to be a robins nest and I know they like an open nest, but this is a very strange place for it I would have thought where predictors like sparrow hawks (and we have one visit the garden regularly) would easily see them and take them. 🤷🏼‍♀️I hope you have a quieter week this week Cecily with no dramas. 🙏🏻 How are Dylan and Brodie coping with the heat? Thankfully we have a refreshing breeze here, so not as bad as some are getting. Take care.🤗xx

[CecilyParsley in reply to Spotty-ewe]

I hope you get answers lovely. Poor Dylan has been diagnosed with a leaky mitral valve so he will be on medication for life. On the plus side our little blind, partially deaf trooper lives to fight another day. He and Brodie are driving Neil mad. They cannot understand why they cannot go for their walk in the afternoon lol. They sit in front of him staring him out for hours. It is hilarious. He takes them at 6.30 am and 9.30 pm. The doors are open onto the patio and they have their cool coats on and sit in front of the fan. I tried to book them in fir a haircut but the groomer is off on holiday so they will have to wait two weeks. Dylan gets soaked when Neil waters the garden because he jumps and tries to catch the water bless him. Brodie runs and hides, he hates getting wet. I have to,d he he is meant to be a gun dog but he is having none of it 😂😂 xxx

[Spotty-ewe in reply to CecilyParsley]

Dylan is a real warrior and is lucky to have such a caring Mum and Dad to love and care for him and Brodie. 🥰 Hopefully their cool coats and the fan will keep them cool until the groomer returns from holiday. I could do with a cool coat myself! 😆 We have the fan on but it is still very warm. 🥵 Keep cool Cecily. 😘🤗xx

[CecilyParsley in reply to Spotty-ewe]

He is indeed. We marvel at how happy he is. Brodie is our Eeyore that is until he sees people. He just adores people. On a walk if he sees someone a quarter of a mile away he will sit and refuse to move until they reach us, then runs up to them as if to say here I am make fusses of me. Hilarious. Poor boy was sick everywhere last night. I had the washing machine on until 3am. Thankfully he is so much better today. They give us so much joy and comfort. Keep cool and sit by the fan lovely xxx

[Spotty-ewe in reply to CecilyParsley]

Oh dear, so sorry to hear Brodie was sick last night but good he is much better today. Is it the heat do you think or has he eaten something that upset him? They definitely do bring so much joy and comfort to us. We still really miss our doggies Murray and Hogan. In that sense they’ll always be with us. 🥰 xxxx

[CecilyParsley in reply to Spotty-ewe]

Yes the heat I think. My carers dog had a heat related fit last night too. We are just not used to it are we? I know what you mean we have Crockett and Megs ashes and they will always be our babies too xxx

[Spotty-ewe in reply to CecilyParsley]

No, you are right we aren’t used to this heat at all. Our area reached 27 degrees today although not as high as many others in the 30s.🥵 I hope it isn’t too hot with you Cecily. If every summer is going to be like this I can see us all having to invest in air con. I hope Brodie copes better tonight and your carer’s dog too.🙏🏻 Yes, all our pets will always be our babies. 💕🥰 Enjoy your evening. 🍨🍹🧊xx

[CecilyParsley in reply to Spotty-ewe]

Funnily enough a friend with Fibro who is vomiting in the heat is having air con fitted. In our garden today it was 32 degrees, great for the washing but I am hiding by the fan with the dogs lol I just watched The Dog Rescuers so the air was blue here. Some poor poor dog her owner threw her in the bath after beating her senseless. Evil, evil 🤬🤬🤬. Honestly I do not understand why these people have animals xxx

[Spotty-ewe in reply to CecilyParsley]

I’d have them flogged if it were me. 😡 I can’t watch programmes like that, or adverts asking for funding for abused or neglected animals or news items about poachers. 😭 Although I support Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norfolk, whose patron is Martin Shaw, I can’t look at their appeals for money for animals they have just rescued either. It turns my stomach and makes me SO angry that people can do that. I also feel sorry for farm animals which are in fields with no shelter to provide shade in this kind of weather or keep them dry in the winter storms. Time we won the lottery Cecily and opened up that animal sanctuary we’ve talked about before. Goodness knows many more are needed. 🤗 xx

[CecilyParsley in reply to Spotty-ewe]

Yes absolutely it would be better than meds wouldn’t it? I sign so many petitions and write so many emails and letters about animal abuse. I just sent one about the poor donkeys on the seafront in this heat, no water, shelter they looked so sad it made me cry and rant a lot. Neil says it is no wonder I need Omeprazole lol. I used to stand and shout 🤬 at hunts, now I just tip off the hunt sabs who are brave, wonderful people. Fingers crossed for the Lotto lovely 🤞🏻🙏🏻 Xxx

[Spotty-ewe in reply to CecilyParsley]

Haha, you sound just like me. I shouted “Murderers!” at a utility truck load of caged game birds that were being taken out for people to shoot. My friend I was walking with at the time looked at me as though I’d lost it! But what’s wrong with clay pigeon shooting if they want to shoot at a moving target? Makes me sick! Yes, I’ll keep my fingers crossed forus both for the Lotto. 🤞🤞🤞xxx

[CecilyParsley in reply to Spotty-ewe]

My lovely Mam used to frequently tell me of an incident when I was four years old. She had taken me to visit my Nan and there was a man with a horse pulling a cart shouting for iron and metals. The horse stopped and the man began hitting it to make it move. My Mam says next thing I pulled free of her hand and was kicking the man in the shins. So even then I was an animal advocate. I am 60 this year and nothing has changed except I might have to beat them with my stick as no doubt kicking them woukd cause me more pain than them lol xxx

[Spotty-ewe in reply to CecilyParsley]

A lovely story Cecily and one I can relate to. I hate cruelty and just want to hug creatures. 🤗 My Mum told me I’d put my arms around the rear legs of a camel to hug it when I was 4 when we stopped in Aden on our voyage to Australia. She dragged me away just in time because the camel then peed in exactly the spot I’d been standing. Poor thing had probably been holding onto the pee and couldn’t even cross its legs with me clutching them! 😂🤣

[CecilyParsley in reply to Spotty-ewe]

Oh that is just fabulous. What an amazing sight for a four year old to see a camel. Sadly like donkeys they get worked to death. You must have some wonderful memories of what you saw? Xxx🐪🐫

[Spotty-ewe in reply to CecilyParsley]

I don’t recall very much about that voyage to Australia in 1960 when we were £10 Pommes. But hubby and I holidayed in Egypt the year after my Mum passed to see where my Dad had been stationed in the 1930s and where he fought during the last war. I was appalled at the way animals were treated - horses pulling passenger buggies all day long with metal blinkers in the scorching heat 🥵 and their ribs showing. From a bus I saw a poor donkey whose hooves were slipping on the cobbled street trying to pull an overloaded cart of bricks with a man whipping him. 😡 If I hadn’t been on the bus I’d have grabbed that whip out of his hand and whipped him with it!🤬 Then at a souvenir shop I saw a fat dog tied on a very short rope in the blazing sun with no water. I angrily told the shop owner to get his dog into the shade and give it some water. He grudgingly obliged probably because I was with a coach party and he didn’t want to lose any sales. The poor dog had the ends of its ears burnt from the sun. 😫 When we returned to the bus somebody told me the dog had been fattened up for the BBQ . I just about threw up. I would NEVER go back to Egypt nor China where I witnessed similar horrors against animals, so I’m glad I didn’t see that as a small child as I’m sure it would have given me nightmares. But I was 15 when we returned from Australia via the South Pacific and the panema canal. Now that was an experience and some fabulous memories of it. 🌴🐬🌺. Amazing to think only the rich and famouos could afford to fly anywhere in those days when the opposite is true now with cruising being an expensive luxury. 🛳 I hope you are having a good day Cecily. 🤗xx

[CecilyParsley in reply to Spotty-ewe]

I think Yulin is the most heinous, vile thing human beings do. I cry every year, write letters, sign petitions, share on social media. I would never go to China or the Middle East. I have never been to Spain because of the bullfighting, which is the spectator “ sport” in animal torture. There is so much cruelty everywhere but some countries traditions seem based on inflicting pain on defenceless animals. I watched A bear around the house. It was beautiful and heartbreaking in equal measures. Neil and I sobbed at the bear bile trade and were blown away by the capacity of the beautiful sun and moon bears to recover from such appalling cruelty. At times it is overwhelming and difficult to see a way forward but animal activists are amazing people who keep fighting. I am very much afraid I would be in prison if I saw what they did because I would not be able to contain my rage. The very least I can do is spread awareness and keep writing letters and signing petitions xxx

[Spotty-ewe in reply to CecilyParsley]

Good for you Cecily. 👍🏻👍🏻 I truly admire you. I used to do the same but in recent years I’ve lapsed a little. I am 66 now with my own and hubby’s health issues so just want a quiet life and have found over the 45 years I’ve been taking petitions from door to door and writing letters and supporting charities like WWF, RSPCA, and many others that really very little has changed which is SO disheartening. Indeed animals like the rhino have become almost extinct all because of some crazy tradition of using rhino horn for medicinal purposes. Horrendous. Yes, dogs and cats are eaten by many cultures which we find heinous along with all sorts of animal cruelty sports from bull fighting to dog and cock fights, fox hunting and badger baiting and the list goes on. Have they been stopped over the last 45 years? No. All I feel I can do now is support animal charities and animal refuges and hope this in some small way helps, unless of course I win the Lotto and can set up another animal rescue centre. So it is wonderful to know some warriors are still going strong. 👍🏻👍🏻 Xxx

[CecilyParsley in reply to Spotty-ewe]

Here’s to our Lotto win and the very best animal rescue centre in the UK with free treatment for those who love their animals but cannot afford the extortionate vet fees 🙏🏻🤞🏻❤️ Xxx

[Spotty-ewe in reply to CecilyParsley]

Sounds perfect! 🤞🤞🙏🏻💕xxxx

[svfarmer]

Hi Spotty what a funny place to lay eggs, they look beautiful , I really hope that mummy bird comes back xx

[Spotty-ewe in reply to svfarmer]

That’s what I thought SV, a really strange place to nest and lay eggs. As we drove up to our garage when returning from the dr surely this morning, I thought I saw a bird fly down from that area, but not 100% certain where it came from. I hope it was Mummy bird. 🙏🏻 Have you seen Connor recently? I bet he’ll be glad to get out more now and have visitors again. 👍🏻

[svfarmer in reply to Spotty-ewe]

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the mummy bird to come back - yes I’m back to seeing Connor weekly again, I have to do a Covid test on his doorstep if I want to take him out but just glad the staff are all taking it seriously with precautions - thanks so much for asking - he will be 30 this year so in September we are going to center parcs but because I will be recoving from operation I won’t be going in the swimming pool but Connors 2 brothers are coming too so they will take him swimming etc - hope you are doing ok - big hugs 🤗❤️

[Spotty-ewe in reply to svfarmer]

Aww that sounds wonderful going to Center Parcs for Connor’s 30th.👍🏻👍🏻 He’ll have such fun with his brothers and it will be a lovely place for you to convalesce after your op. Something lovely to look forward to SV.🥰Mummy bird did return but she’s not a robin after all. She appears to be a spotted flycatcher but she also appears to be on her own and leaves the nest regularly to get food and water so I don’t know if the eggs will incubate successfully.🤷🏼‍♀️ We’ll just have to wait and see. Hubby’s cousin who is a keen birdwatcher and ringer has advised us to put a short curtain of chicken wire or similar in front of her nest to deter predators but in such a position as she can fly under it. She said to wait until the chicks hatch out so we’ll see what happens and if they do. Fingers crossed. 🤞🤞 Not long until your op now. Look forward to what lies ahead of it and to your relaxing days of recovery and the super birthday treat for dear Connor. Big hugs back.🤗🤗😘xx

[suzannah16]

they look fresh and shiny so hopefully not abandoned. I had a warbler nest in my nelly moser clematis this year. thrushes in the pyracanthus. blackbirds all over. I'm surprised no one has yet nested in my bushy potatoes

[Spotty-ewe in reply to suzannah16]

😂😂 That would be funny. Yes, our hedges and the hedgerow between us and the farmer’s field have a plethora of nesting birds in them and it is so lovely to have isn’t it.🥰 But this was really weird I thought. The wrens nesting in the coconut next to it was strange enough last year, but this is so open 😬 obviously a bird that likes a view! How are you coping with the heat Suzannah? I fancy a cool coat that Cecily mentioned she has for her fur babies. 😁

[suzannah16 in reply to Spotty-ewe]

loving the heat hating the pollen.

[Spotty-ewe in reply to suzannah16]

My hubby would sympathise with you. He was tested many years ago by a homeopath in Fort William who discovered he is allergic to grass pollen. He now takes a homeopathic pill of grass pollen once per week during the summer and has been free of itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezes etc that plagued him in the past. I hope you aren’t suffering too much.🙏

[suzannah16 in reply to Spotty-ewe]

just finished the wheat and barley pollen and about to start on the potato flower pollen. the joys of country living. at least i'm not in town with exhaust fumes

[Spotty-ewe in reply to suzannah16]

Yes, that’s true at least it is all natural.

[stiff19]

Have no idea but these birds make nests in the funniest of places 😍🤗😘

[Spotty-ewe in reply to stiff19]

Don’t they just? Did you ever find out what that nest was you found in your shed? You might have told us already and I’m sorry if you did, my memory is getting worse. 🥴 I’ll blame it on the heat although I’m sure it is more than just that! 😆

[stiff19 in reply to Spotty-ewe]

No sadly I didn’t, life took over but so many different birds it could have been anything 🤷‍♀️Don’t go there!🤪🤣 I’d like to blame heat too 🙌🏻

Xx

[Spotty-ewe in reply to stiff19]

I’m sure it is the heat!🤪 I quietly moved to a corner of the garage quite far from the shed with my binoculars after thinking I saw a bird fly away from the direction of the coconut and low and behold Mrs Robin was sitting on the nest.😳 But later when hubby went to get something out of the garage he noticed her fly away. 🤦‍♀️ She is very timid and depending on how long she’s had that nest and been incubating the eggs it could sadly mean they’ll come to nothing when she keeps flying away. 😭 We’ll try to keep away from the shed as much as we can but we can’t keep away from the garage as well. Mind you it is a great reason not to do any gardening for a few weeks!😉😆 xx

[stiff19 in reply to Spotty-ewe]

🙌🏻🤣Lovely this time of year with all the birdies 😍 whatever it is let’s hope for the best. 🙏xx

[misty14]

What a lovely place to have a nest spotty!. Do hope its not been abandoned and Mr and Mrs Robin come back to tend to those beautiful eggs. You'll have to keep good watch out now!. ha !. I don't know anything about birds but I was going to suggest that some do occupy each other's nests but if your certain they're robin's eggs then that puts paid to that.

Hope today is going well for you both. I'm having a much better day today, will tell you more in tomorrow's email.

Hope your managing to keep as cool as poss and keep us posted about the nest, its a wonderful distraction!. Xx

[Spotty-ewe in reply to misty14]

Yes, obviously a bird that wants a nest with a view! 😂😂 I thought I saw a bird fly away from that area as we pulled up in the car after being at GP surgery this morning, so I’m hoping it was Mummy bird.🤞 Another scorcher so I’m relaxing in our sunroom with windows and door open and fan on. Still very warm though. 🥵

Good to hear you are having a much better day Misty and look forward to hearing the details tomorrow.👍🏻

If I see any more activity around the nest, I’ll let you know. Stay cool! xx

[whisperit]

It's definitely a Robin's nest. They do seem to pick some pretty wacky spots; the male will often built several and wait for the female to choose the best. Not long ago, I found a nest with eggs in a tipped flower pot right next to the catflap. How it got to that stage without the darling cat, or the garden hedgehog eating them all I have no idea. But it was abandoned in due course. Ihave no idea what your pair are up to right now; just wait and see I guess.

My feeling is that Robins will push their luck on nest siting sometimes - more than other birds. Presumably this is a strategy that pays off more often than not, but I guess it does risk losing more nests than a less enterprising approach x

[Spotty-ewe in reply to whisperit]

Hi Whisperit, you are spot on. 👏🏻 I thought I saw a bird fly from that area when we returned in the car this morning and later when I looked from a distance through my binoculars there was Mrs Robin sitting on the nest. She is very timid though and flies off even if we are moving around the garage a fair distance off, never mind wanting into the shed, so I don’t know that the eggs will ever incubate properly.🤷🏼‍♀️That was particularly dopey of the robins in your garden building a nest and laying eggs right next to your cat flap! I’ll see how my pair get on and whether they succeed in rearing a family.

I hope you are keeping cool enough in this heatwave! 🙏🏻 xx

[Jmiller623]

Hopefully, the mom will return at night. Robins have a tendency to make nests in door decorations too. Once spring rolled around, my FB feed was full of nest made in wreaths hanging from people’s front door. They don’t care as long it’s covered and on stable infrastructure. We could learn from them. 😂😂 Great picture!

[Spotty-ewe in reply to Jmiller623]

Thanks for that info JM. 👍🏻 Our resident robin is very tame and friendly, as they often are, which is why I’m a little surprised Mrs Robin is so timid and from such a distance. I hope she succeeds in hatching her eggs although I worry they are so open to view there from predators like the woodpecker and sparrow hawk both of which visit our garden. 🤭 Glad you liked the pictures. Hoping you are keeping as well as you can be. 🤗x

[Willow1414]

Hi Spotty-ewe

Do you think the nest is really abandoned ..

Just a thought , I see the moss is very fresh looking . I would dry very quickly with no moisture .

Hope mum Robin returns

🦋❤️

[Spotty-ewe in reply to Willow1414]

Yes Willow, our hopes have been fulfilled and Mrs Robin has returned 👍🏻 but is extremely timid on her nest, unlike the robin we see in the garden, and flies off if you are anywhere within 15 metres of the shed where the nest is located. Because of this I don’t know that the eggs will incubate properly. We are now keeping away from the shed as much as we possibly can, but even going to the garage or moving the car outside the garage seems to be enough to make her fly off. But hopefully little ones will emerge in time. 🤞🤞I’ll keep you posted. Xx

[gizzard]

These are not Robin eggs. Robin eggs are a beautiful blue. Just blue. How long have they been abandoned for? Don't touch them until you're sure they are really abandoned.

[Spotty-ewe in reply to gizzard]

Hi Gizzard, Mrs Robin has returned and I’ve observed her sitting there happily through my binoculars. However if you are anywhere within 15 metres or so of the shed she flies off. It really isn’t a good nesting site and is very open to view by any predators such as the woodpecker and sparrow hawk both of which frequent our garden. I hope her little ones will survive if they hatch out. 🤞 Keep safe and cool. Xx