Tragedy & Triumph - An American Robin Documentary

in April of 2012 an American Robin built a nest atop my porch light I mounted a webcam under the awning eight inches from the nest I must warn you that the survival rate of American Robins during the first year is only 25 percent and there is footage within this documentary that provides visual support of that statistic the American Robin returns from migration each year during February or March the breeding period is generally April through July nests are built by the female alone using grass and twigs she didn't smear x' the inside with mud and presses down soft grass as a final touch on April 7th it was evident that the first egg had been laid Robins can have two or three broods per season with the clutch size of 3 to 5 eggs this Sparrow appears to be homeless Lee investigating the nest perhaps to simplify the task of finding nest supplies of its own harmless as it may be the female Robin returns to make it known this nest is not vacant the next opportunity seems prime for the sparrow and the commitment to acquire some nest materials becomes clear a subsequent return by the sparrow transforms into an awkward encounter the female Robin is calm but makes it clear the sparrow is not welcome the sparrows plans are futile and as such it departs birds that have a primary diet of fruit and berries lay their eggs right away in the morning Robins however eat a lot of earthworms and the heat from the Sun causes earthworms to crawl deep into the soil to cool off because of this Robin's spend the early morning searching for worms when the soil temperature is at its lowest and lay their eggs just before noon instead success on April 9th I changed the location of the webcam because I was unable to see into the nest properly we now have three eggs Robins rotate their eggs so that warmth from their brood patch under their stomach is spread evenly if too much heat is concentrated in one spot the unborn Robin may adhere to the inside of the shell female Robin's almost always stay on the nest during inclement weather even as juvenile hatchlings become older the time has come for the first egg to hatch the incubation period for Robins is around 14 days watch the egg in the background as the female robin's pecking actions create a small hole in the shell once the outside of the shell is compromised it's time to come out for us this means twins the female feeds one of the hatchlings eventually the female removes the shell from the nest Robin's like to keep a tidy nest but removing the shell is also a threat prevention activity some predators can smell an open shell and invade a nest the Robin may fly the shell up to a mile away from the nest removing the shell of course is only a prevention technique the threat of predators is still very real you may have already noticed a stark change in the Robins demeanor this Robin is taking a defense position the noise you just heard was a crow landing on the deck railing crows are common predators to Robin's and are known for invading nests the same is true for Blue Jays grackles and ravens at this point there's little that can be done the actions of the crow cracked the remaining egg which caused the hatchling to emerge this is the last hope in this clutch of eggs crime scenes however are often returned to the female returns with a tree for the last hatchling but the nest is now empty with an empty nest there's no reason to stay later that summer I recorded a different Robin 20 miles south of where I live by mounting a webcam in a tree at a friend's house the egg-laying process is no different than we saw before this Robin lays a total of three eggs as well the Robin protects the egg from the rain but it can do little to protect the nest from being discovered by the neighbor's daughter approaching the nest especially when eggs are present obviously upsets the female Robin it's very important not to draw attention to nests as predators can watch for this just prior to this clip the nest was invaded by both a crow and a blue jay at the same time one of the two remaining eggs is cracked as a result of the earlier invasion the incubation period had only just begun and this now creates a risk for the healthy egg to save the final egg the females instincts tell her to remove the damaged egg on a separate occasion a gray catbird invades the nest unlike the sparrow before the catbird is not interested in nest materials but rather the fluid and portions of the developing Robin inside the egg while this is certainly grotesque according to human standards the cat birds perspective is simply a matter of nutrients and survival you you it appears as though this even applies to the very species that laid the egg you predators to Robin zero the most interesting events occurred back home the following year in 2013 on the very same porch light I watched a Robin just finished building this nest yet a pair of finches seem right at home any guesses as to who eventually takes ownership of the nest the original Robin or perhaps this pair of finches you might be as surprised as I was neither one a common dove moves right in why not this nest has potential and with a few modifications it'll be perfect look at that a pristine white egg strangely enough however the very next day both the egg and the doves were gone as quickly as they appeared I then removed the nest the breeding period was still active and it wasn't long before another nest was built again by a Robin by May 12th the first egg was laid if the outdoor temperature becomes excessive Robin's maintain their body temperature by opening their mouth and panting by May 16th this Robin had laid four eggs remember clutches may vary in size for three to five eggs on May 25th two eggs have gone missing given the track record so far I assumed a predator had invaded the nest or perhaps the eggs were blown from the nest by strong winds from the summer storms we've been having may 27th marked the 15th day of incubation recall that the incubation period is usually 14 days however neither of these eggs are hatched I began to be concerned for the eggs but I also began to wonder if the behavior of bringing food to the nest is an instinct based on how much time has passed versus visual evidence of a hatchling being present later that day the female brought new grass to the nest as though it were building a new one but there was already a nest and two eggs at the time this behavior seems strange to me the male joins the female and together they share a quiet moment remember how I mentioned the female almost always stays on the nest during inclement weather the biggest storm of the summer and no mother to be found I began to think the eggs were infertile if we take a look at the data the female Robin initially laid a single egg per day as we would expect then the incubation period began on May 25th the eggs began disappearing I later found that the female Robin was removing the eggs herself I absolutely expected an empty nest on May 30th to the contrary bringing grass to the nest was for a reason there was another clutch to be had five eggs of course one was old and would eventually disappear as expected On June 12th the first egg hatched this hatch sign barely has enough strength to lift its disproportionate head later that day the female reveals to us twins again a nest of three let the feast begin here the mother brings a nice-sized larva this one is too large for the youngest of the three the older hats Wang is happy to volunteer now all four eggs have hatched if you watch closely you can actually see the eatin food move slowly into the body cavity of the hatch line waste accumulation does not occur in the nest the female removes it herself the male plays a role as well bringing a large earthworm to the growing hatchlings like humans two caretakers are better than one look at how the hatchlings are growing this is day five the juvenile Robins eyes now begin to open the female was very efficient during the hunt for food this time by larvae moth and worm all at once juveniles camped in the summer heat just like adults notice the trachea opening and closing On June 21st a decent-size storm came through now you can see what it looked like for me to watch this experience from inside look at that wind watch the female on the portrayal eat a worm lightning strikes and she flies up to protect nest On June 22nd I added another camera angle one of the juveniles stands out among the rest this one is preparing to leave the nest the following day when a juvenile Robin leaves the nest it's referred to as fledging the nest in this case it's almost questionable whether it was on its own initiative or if it had help from its siblings it lands safely in a plastic container with leftovers of an old box garden I had the Robinson says high alert everything it's experiencing is brand-new and a bit of a challenge you juveniles often follow their parents around for the first few days until they learn how to get food on their own you this juvenile is in a strange place it has left the nest but there's more freedom to be had the distance from the deck to the ground is greater than the distance from the nest to the deck time for a moment of reflection you there you go safe and sound in the soft grass below the next juvenile is ready to floods the nest the following day a little practice first and maybe a push from the siblings again oops this one has a lot more energy than the first and is ready to explore the world you hmm where should I go you in the next shot at Saks up on the railing way to go what a big world out there in a good headwind for a nice takeoff it found some shade near the small bird house and spent about 30 minutes there like the first it received some dietary support whoa the wind is pretty strong now let's calm down a bit here we go and nope I'm not quite ready yet you can see the intention in this one finally it's ready to fly it looks like it may have flown onto the roof put the wings in a few days to develop yet like the first it landed safely in the grass below the day the third one floods the nest I had surgery and was unable to record it the fourth one however is ready to go this one was stubborn and did not want to leave the nest for several days as it departs I'd like to thank you for watching tragedy and triumph an American Robin documentary you you

Channel: MrMusikyle

Views: 520,197

Rating: 4.8648968 out of 5

Keywords: robin, robins, bird, birds, nest, nests, fledge, leave, hatch, egg, hatcling, nestling, avian, documentary, american, American Robin (Organism Classification), cedar rapids, iowa, coralville, kyle shifflett, lays, an, laying, birth, baby, incubate, spring, hatched

Id: XAd1DlE7eaU

Length: 19min 45sec (1185 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 25 2013