Robin nestlings dead - why? (1 Viewer)

[VeraVerte]

Hi, I'm totally new to this website & forum, so please excuse me if I'm posting this question in the wrong thread.

I had a pair of Robins nesting in the garden (nest built in a sheltered, secluded location amongst the ivy on a wall).
All seemed to be going well, and naturally I kept well away. (I use binoculars to watch all the comings and goings!) But suddenly the adult birds stopped delivering food to the nest, and I became puzzled by the fact that the female began to construct another nest some yards away from the original one, closely watched by her mate.

I was sure that the original nestlings hadn't fledged, so today I decided to investigate. I was very sad to find three dead chicks in the nest. They're at a very early stage of development (ie: still tiny and un-feathered, quills just starting to show). So naturally I'm wondering whether anyone can shed any light on what might have happened to them, please? (I've looked on the RSPB website but couldn't find any 'clues'!)

I just have to hope that the second brood will survive OK.

 

[MSA]

Maybe there was a lack of food locally and they starved? Sad if so, but the important thing is that the adults are OK and ready to start again.

 

[VeraVerte]

Thanks for replying Mark.
Yes, maybe starvation, although I do put out plenty of food myself (several times a day) that the robins seem to like ... mealworms, insect-infused suet pellets, etc.

 

[JoeRawles]

Unfortunately this is something that happens in nature a lot - Robins will have up to 3 broods in a successful year, Blackbirds up to 4, most Tit species only 1. However, they will lay lots of eggs to counter the fact that so many will never make it through the first year. I can't offer an explanation to what happened, but lets hope the next lot have better success! Some Robins fledge as early as March but there's still plenty of time for yours. All the best!

 

[VeraVerte]

Thanks Mark. Yes, hopefully their 2nd attempt will be successful.

Actually, there were blackbirds nesting at exactly the same time as the robins, and all three of their chicks fledged successfully ... so I don't think starvation could have been the cause of the robins demise.

 

[Eugene Archer]

Three chicks in the nest seemed a little low for Robin so I checked on the BTO site which confirmed that 4-5 were more the norm. I wonder if the nest had been predated at some stage which caused the parents to abandon the site ? Did you notice if there were unhatched eggs remaining ?

 

[VeraVerte]

Thank you for your question Eugene ... no, there were no unhatched eggs. I checked the area around the nest site for 'clues', but there was nothing unusual to be seen.
Yes, I guess abandonment following predation may be a possibility ... although wouldn't the predator have returned for the other nestlings?

 

[Eugene Archer]

To be honest I don't really know. Yes, it's generally safe to assume that predators will reap as much benefit from a potential food source as possible but it depends I suppose on the circumstances and what the actual predator was. Magpies will clear out a whole nest sometimes as will some ground predators such as rats but perhaps a more opportunist animal was involved ? Maybe it just took one chick, got disturbed and never came back for the rest but the incident was enough to make the Robins decide to try again elsewhere ?

About 10 years ago Blue Tits used a nestbox in my garden and all was going well for the first few days. Then one day I noticed that the parent(s) were making very few visits with food, then none at all. I left it for another day or so before investigating and discovered all 10 chicks were dead inside (c.4 days old or thereabouts). I don't think the weather or other environmental factors were to blame and with hindsight I reckon one of the adults must have been killed or died and the other parent quickly decided that bringing up 10 chicks on their own was a non-starter and that the investment in time and energy was not worth the very low chance of survival for any of the brood: better to save your energies and start again. As humans we can look at that as being cruel and / or courageous at the same time but from a bird's point of view it's all about natural selection and survival of the fittest - sentiment just doesn't come into it

Good luck to your Robins on their second attempt anyway !