Nesting Robin It’s nice being back home on my local walkabout. This Robin did not move off her nest as I walked by her on a trail. Now certainly she must be accustomed to people walking by. Still, I was less than 15 feet away from her. Doesn’t she look comfy? So, that led me to investigate more about Robins.
Most birds lay their eggs at sunrise, but not robins. They lay their eggs at mid-morning after feasting on worms during the early morning. If you think laying an egg is easy, think again! Like most birds, they lay one egg a day until their four egg clutch is complete. Until they’ve laid a full clutch, robins allow all the eggs to stay cool so the babies don’t start to develop. Thus, all the babies hatch close to the same time. Mother robins may start incubating their eggs during the evening after the second egg is laid, or after all the eggs are laid. They sit on the eggs for 12 to 14 days. The female usually does all the incubating. Even in good weather, she rarely leaves her eggs for more than 5 to 10 minutes at a time. Usually, she only leaves the nest to feed, but her male may even bring food to feed her.
