Robins and Fledging Behavior

Name: Sandy
Status: educator
Grade: All Grades
Location: NY

Question: We had a nest on a low branch in a tree and were delighted to
watch the eggs hatch and the baby birds were starting to grow and get
few feathers. The nest is now empty and the mother bird does not return.
There is no evidence of "foul play" from another creature- no feathers-
bones, fur etc. Could the mother robin have relocated her babies? What
do the babies, how developed are the baby robins when they go off on
their own?
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If the robin nestlings were not mature enough to fly, it can be assumed that the 
nest witnessed foul play by a predator or human.  There are several predatory 
possibilities including raptors (owls or hawks), raccoons, cats, and others 
depending on your exact location.  Robins often choose nest sites on limbs too 
weak for raccoons and cats.  Several predators would consume the chicks whole so 
no feathers would be seen, but feathers are usually present if a natural predator 
is involved.   Human interference in capture may leave little signs.  Of course we 
do not know for sure what happened.

The female robin could not have moved the chicks to a different location.  However, 
adult robins will try to detour predators from their nest site if they can by using 
a fake injury behavior as if the females wing was broken, or make a lot of noise 
and lead the animal away from the nest.  Females will even remove the egg shells 
after hatching to a far away location and collect the fecal pouches the young 
deposit and drop them far from the nest site.  Both of these behaviors are to 
avoid detection of the nest site.  Yes, the young birds deposit their waste in 
little pouches! 

If the birds were mature, the fledglings would have stayed near the nest tree 
being fed by the parents for the first day so you would have noticed them I am
pretty certain, unless their is significant places to hide.  The parents would 
led them to a safe location.  The chicks leave at different times for they 
rarely develop at the same rate so a quickly empty nest is suspect.  They would 
be seen following one of the parents around begging for food until the parents 
stop responding to their food requests and they are then on their own.  Young 
robins have a distinct speckled breast that adults do not show.

Steve Sample
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