Please enjoy these photos of my daily documentation of the Mama and baby robins from the day the eggs were laid until the day they leave the nest as fledglings. You may also like our rockin’ robin craft and our paper plate robin craft. Both are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.
Last summer, we returned home after 10 days of camping to discover that in our absence, a mother Robin had built a nest in the rafters of our covered deck. Shortly after, she laid 3 eggs, and I set up a ladder close by, and spent the next several weeks getting up close and personal with our baby robins. I was so blessed to get pictures of the babies hatching, of the parents feeding the baby robins, and I even managed to get pictures of the robins leaving the nest.
If the kids want to make a nest of their own, check out our easy paper bag bird’s nest craft.
You can see even more pictures of our baby robins here in this album on my Facebook page.
How many eggs do robins lay?
An American robin typically typically lays 3-4 eggs in her first nesting of the season.
When do robins lay eggs?
A robin may have 2 or 3 broods per season (between April and July), and will usually lay fewer eggs with the 2nd and 3rd nesting. A robin lays one egg per day at mid-morning, and doesn’t sit on her nest to incubate the eggs until all of her eggs have been laid. This way, all of the baby robins start developing at the same time in the eggs.
How long do robins eggs take to hatch?
After laying her eggs, a mother robin sits on the nest for about 12-14 days until her babies hatch.
I managed to get a photograph of our babies on the day that they hatched, and I photographed their growth every day until they left the nest.
Mama Robin was very trusting and patient as I climbed up and down my ladder, snapping the pictures that you see here.
It was an absolute privilege to watch the miracle of life unfold right before our eyes and to see the changes that would occur in “our babies” quite literally, overnight.
Both parents feed the babies.
And it was such a thrill to watch the parents take turns feeding the babies every day. Yes, that’s right… “parents”. Both the mother and father robin feed the babies. They take turns flying in and out of the nest all day long bringing their babies their meals.
What do baby robins eat?
For the first four days, the parents feed them regurgitated food, and then their parents start giving them small bits of earth worms. Soon after, they start feeding them whole worms and bugs.
What about the baby robin poop?
Every time a baby robin eats, it poops immediately afterwards. Their poop is neatly contained in a thick membrane, so it’s similar to a tiny balloon. This is called a fecal sac. In the first few days after hatching, a robin’s poop doesn’t contain any bacteria, so the mother and father robins actually eat their babies’ poop. Eww! After a few days, the parents pick up the fecal sac in their beaks, and carry it a safe distance away from the nest, dropping it as they fly. They do this to prevent predators from knowing where the nest is.
How long do baby robins stay in the nest?
Baby robins are ready to fledge (leave the nest) when they’re 13-14 days old.
One evening, two weeks after 2 of the 3 eggs hatched (the 3rd never did), our little ones spread their wings and clumsily left the nest.
Fortunately, we were sitting on the deck when that moment arrived, so I grabbed my camera, and snapped the few pictures of our babies, as they hopped through the grass, and then made their way up into the low branches of a pine tree at the back of our property.
Where do baby robins go when they fledge?
The mother and father robin will stay close to the fledglings once they leave the nest, but the mother will need to leave them before long to lay another clutch of eggs. They’ll stay with the father and continue to learn from him (and from other robins) until Dad has to leave them to take care of the new round of babies.
I hope you enjoy the pictures of our baby robins.
We were thrilled when Mama returned again in late spring, and laid three eggs, and then again in July to lay 2 more, allowing us to experience it all for a second and third time, until our babies left the nest and hopped off into the shelter of the pines, once again.
Children’s Books About Robins:
To learn more about robins, and to hear the songs they sing, click here.
Robin Crafts for Kids:
Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
katepickle
oooh what a fab experience and what awesome photos!
Liz
Your photos are amazing!
Larry
I am trying to figure out what happened to the nestling Robin’s on my deck. The hatched 2 days ago and I saw them. Now the nest is empty. No sign that it was ever occupied. What happened to the baby birds?
Jackie Currie
Oh no. I’m so sorry they’re gone, Larry. Sadly, a predator probably found them. Squirrels, blue jays and crows are the likely culprits. 🙁
Joanne McFarland
Mama laid her eggs in a wreath I have on my shed door. Sorry but I can not say I am happy. I need my garden tools out of the shed. I am afraid if I open the door it will upset the whole nature process. I will watch closely from now on and wont let them build there. I am way behind in planting my flowers this year. I don’t have anything against Robins just don’t want them to build there.
ninjac
You should be able to go in your shed. Just be gentle when you swing the door open and consolidate trips. They often make a nest on the light right next to my back door that I use several times a day. They fly away but come back. I read part of the benefit of nesting close to humans is that it helps keep crows away. I actually put up a nesting box a little off from my door, under the shade and with overhand from the rain, and she nesting there this year.
Jackie Skinner
Does anyone know what happens to fledglings when they leave the nest. I was lucky enough to see one robin fledge and it fluttered into a Bush. The others left the nest during the night but now I can’t see any of them in my garden. The parents are still around and the female is even preparing the nest for a second brood but do the fledglings fly off to other gardens?
Jackie Currie
Hi Jackie! I just did some reading, and I’ll have to add these facts to my post. Once the babies fledge, their parents feed them for a few days. The mother will soon leave them to lay a new clutch of eggs, but they’ll continue to learn from other robins and from their father until he leaves to help look after the new round of babies.
Angela
We have a nest on our deck. There were three eggs that all hatched. We left town when they were 8 days old. We came home when they were 13 days old and there is only one left in the nest. He has been there for several hours, with mom and dad both close by and periodically coming to the nest. Is it likely the other two have already fledged, or do they always leave at the same time? We’re worried something happened to the other two, but want to believe they just left before we came home.
Cheryl Roberts
My predator cat must have emptied a local robin nest last night. I heard an almighty squak from the back garden, only to go out and find 3 dead baby robins and one barely alive. Rescued the live one and bought it in, seems to be fine today, even tho i was unsure she would last the night. Woke up at dawn to hear her squaking like mad so proceeded to go outside and catch a few worms. For a baby thats had no interaction with humans before now, shes allowing me to feed and water her. She actually tips her head back when she sees my hand reach into the cage now. Im hoping to be able to handrear until shes strong enough then let her go. We’ve named her, Birdy Gaga, as all she does is sing and chirp haha.
Jackie Currie
Oh my goodness! What an exciting experience! I love the name!!
Michele
Cheryl,
We raised a 2 day old robin I did call he rangers office (I was living in PA at the time) and he told me to leave it, it was against the law to hand raise it and that I could go to jail. Oh well, he would have to find me first! He did extremely well and after he grew up he would come to our deck every season. All we had to do was say Cheep Chirp in our back yard and if he was around he would fly to our deck/us, so freakin amazing. He’d land on our hand or especially my oldest s head. I have a pic at home (I’m at work now). I’ll see if I can upload it tmrw.It was a great experience for my children. My gram always raised birds or other creatures if they needed assistance.
Jackie Currie
Aw, I love this story, Michele!
Judith
I just experienced the same thing with a robin’s next and 4 eggs! I’m curious about yours returning – did it return to the same nest? I’ve read that they don’t usually return to the same one…
Jackie Currie
Yes, ours often return to the same nest for the 2nd and 3rd brood of the season, Judith. This year, we thought she was going to, as she came back and sat in the nest several times when she was preparing for her 2nd brood, but I think the temperature up under the roof of the deck was too hot, so she built another nest in a nearby bush and instead.
Maureen Ferris
Hi , so enjoyed your pics. Until yesterday we had two Robins nesting in our shed, lots of activity coming and going with food. Today there is no sign of any of the Robins, it seems early for them to have hatched and flown the nest. What do you think?
Ingrid M Tower
Hi Jackie,
For the first time in my 71 years am I experiencing the miracles of nest building and mama robin sitting on 4 beauitiful blue eggs. She built the nest in the ceiling rafter of my small back porch. It is all hers. I do not sit out there, I do not use my hammock, and I do not use the porch to go downstairs to my garage. While mama was gone for a few minutes my tall son pulled himself up, saw the miraculous blue eggs and took a photo, I put a ladder on the other end of the small porch because I would like to see the process of the babies hatching and try to take photos the way you did. Mama was sitting on a big tree across from my porch and made very loud noises for us to disappear, which we did immediately. I speak to her gently through a glass door. I hope she will allow me to climb up the ladder. Another questions is, since the nest is on the porch, if babies fall, they will fall on the porch floor, no grass, no branches. What shall I do? SO far I have put a large cloth matt underneath the area but the nest is also above the corner where the stairs go down.
I am hoping you receive this email and are able to give me tipps. This is the most wonderful experience for me.
Thank you and all the best from Louisville, Kentucky
Ingrid Tower
Jackie Currie
Ours drop down to the deck too, and it’s quite a drop, but they always just hop and flutter away. They’re very resilient. Some of them actually get the hang of fluttering their wings and manage to land out in the grass or even fly out into the yard.
Marjorie Ferris
I had a robin’s nest in a bush by my door last year. It was far into the interior of the bush, so I was nervous about taking pictures. I finally did take a few photos shortly before the three babies fledged. How exciting! This year a cardinal is nesting in the same bush. I love your photos! They capture all the phases which I missed.
Jackie Currie
Oh how exciting to have baby cardinals!!
Kathy
I’ve had robins build a nest and lay eggs above my deck light. It was never a problem until this year. They will aggressively swoop at me anytime I even attempt to go out on my deck. Both parent robins chirp loudly and continuously dive bomb to scare me. I quietly sat out on my deck this morning to read and they swooped very close to my head several times. I want to be able to water my few plants as well as sit on my deck too. What do I do about this aggressive behavior?
Jackie Currie
Oh I know. We have robins every year, several times a year. Some parents can be really skittish/nervous and aggressive. Others are totally laid back.
Loxi Faber
I have a two week old baby Robin. It’s mother made its nest in our garage as it was being built. The sheet rockers move the nest and mama never came back. So I have been feeding it worms for the last two weeks. At this point she I’m sure is ready to leave the nest but there’s no papa around to teach her what she needs to learn what do I do now?
Molly
I haven’t gotten up to look at the nest in garage to see if there are more eggs, but I can clearly see an egg that wasn’t there. I just don’t know why they would be laying eggs in December and in Maine…any ideas?
Jackie Currie
Wow! I’ve never heard of a robin, that far north, laying eggs at this time of year.