Fort Thomas WildLive!

American Robin

(Genus, species: Turdus migratorius)

One day this spring, I went outside to find a robin had begun to build her nest just a few inches from my front door, atop the porch light!

I quickly went inside, grabbed my video camera, and shot footage of her weaving the nest. In about a day, she had added a mud top to the woven grass, stomping it down with her feet and plopping her body into it to shape it.

So, I decided to cordon off the front porch, and then buy a robotic wireless web camera from Amazon, so that I could watch (and share) the miracle of mother nature!

Nesting:

Robins prefer to nest in spruce or maple trees, but are very adaptable, nesting in all sorts of trees and buildings — including my porch light!

The female robin is in charge of nest construction. She takes 2 to 6 days to make the nest, using mud mixed with grass or small twigs.

The female typically lays two clutches of eggs each year. Each clutch typically has three to four eggs. Our robin laid four over the course of a couple days! The eggs are one of the prettiest bird eggs around — they're blue!

It takes about 2 weeks to incubate the eggs — so I had to hurry to get the camera so we could watch! During this time, the female sits on the nest while the male guards the area. Once in awhile the male will sit on the nest to give the female a break.

The baby birds will live in the nest for about 15 days. When they leave, the female usually lays her second clutch.

Learn more about the American Robin at Wikipedia and our friends at Cornell University.