The Brooklyn Botanic Garden Nest and Robin Nest Placement...WHY THERE! Reasoning vs Instinct in Robin Reproduction

       Photo courtesy of Ann Feldman           https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pcb.10152169421917029&type=1

The Red-tailed Hawk nest at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden once again sports what looks like one eyass.

When last we met, I published the photos of the Robin's nest under the dam, which brought a number of responses concerning Robins and nest location.

 Just a little refresher, there is the Robin's nest just under the walkway on a metal plate.  It is secured in place by a metal rod.

 So far things seem to be working out alright, but that metal rod is connected on the top to the wheel that opens and closes the dam.  Therefore it either spins in place or goes up or down controlling the "doors" and hence the flow of water through the dam openings or lack thereof.  

Its movement has not dislodged the nest thus far.

 First from Sally of Kentucky....  

 Robins nest in very interesting locations don't they? I wonder about their decision-making. We have a pair that nests around the raptor rehabilitation center I volunteer at. One would think that nesting above a hawk's mew would not be a good location, or above the peregrine's mew. I had our education GHOW on the glove yesterday and the parents were making quite a ruckus at our presence-3 ready-to-fledge babies peeking out over the edge of the rafters of the mew! We even had one nest INSIDE our large flight cage with rehabbing hawks inside it! I know one or two made it out to fledge, but not all...I don't understand their reasoning for nest placement.

Next up Betty Jo of California...

I hope those robins aren't the type of bird that first land on the
ground when they fledge.  I have decided that robins aren't the
brainiest birds around. After meeting the one that nested repeatedly in the center of a 2 story tall Hawaiian tree fern--the nest being progressively tipped as the new fronds un furled. When I was working there the landscaper kept a huge extension ladder nearby so he could carefully slice off each frond as it started to tip the nest.  The homeowner said several times before the babies had been dumped.
Sigh--birds have such a hard time.
Betty Jo

Robins fresh off the nest once they land for the first time don't really have the wing works to fly right away. They just trot around behind a parent learning about looking for food and being fed by the parent, usually Dad as Robin fledglings tend to have a staggered fledge, for several days until they get the wing strength to get some elevation. 

When a young Robin first comes off the nest depending on wind and other variables they can end up going rather far on their first flight.  It is possible they'll be able to make it if things go right.

That said...

Yes, Betty Jo, Robins do most often land on the ground when they first fledge as they tend to be flightless for several days.

Sally said, "I don't understand their reasoning for nest placement."


Betty Jo said, "I have decided that robins aren't the
brainiest birds around."

No ladies, Robins don't appear at least to be the brainiest birds around nor do they do much reasoning when it comes to nest building or  placement early on in their lives.

Whereas our beloved Red-tailed Hawks may take several seasons to come up with workable criteria for placement of a nest, as well as what to use for materials,  and how to build it depending on the environment in which they find themselves if neither has done it before, Robins often don't have that kind of time to be successful adapters.

The average lifespan of a Robin is l.l years.  Many are working completely on instinct when it comes to nest placement, building, chick raising, and all the other life skills as well during their first breeding season.

Only about 45% of Robin nests are successful.  Why?  Well besides the vagaries of nature, weather, predators and the like, many Robins at this time of year are nesting for the very first time  so there is little to no life experience and hence reasoning to help them be successful.  

They are flying blind on instinct.

It appears to me that part of Robin placement criteria is something for the nest to sit on, which can be a branch or some human made ledge and they also seem partial to an eave, a roof, or enough leaves above the nest for some protection.  As we've seen, what is underneath the nest even in the case of Red-tails who nest over streets or near railroad tracks or other hazards doesn't appear as important as other criteria.

If a Robin manages to live through its first nesting season, which can mean raising two or three broods of chicks, or at least trying to, they've acquired enough useful life knowledge which could include what works and what doesn't in nest site selection  that they may well then live five or six more years or longer continuing to learn what works and what doesn't and getting better at it all the time.  

The longest life span in the wild recorded so far is 13 years, 11 months for an American Robin. 

I therefore posit that the nests and behavior that Sally and Betty Jo have observed as well as the one I found under the dam are likely the work of  Robins working on pure instinct as they are young and haven't had the chance as yet to learn  enough about nest building and site selection to make better choices.

They can't reason as they've no experience to help them along the reasoning road.

Though I once saw a scientist give a paper at The Field Museum in Chicago about "luck" being a factor in an individual of a species or even a group of a particular species survival, which may then make a difference in the survival of an entire species.  He sold me.

So no matter how atrocious some of  the decisions these birds have made look, a little luck can  go a long way in helping them be successful.  For instance the young Robins in the nest under the dam just need a little of  the right wind  for just a little while to get them to safety, which as this is a very small dam, safety is not that far from the nest at all.

Fingers crossed.

Donegal Browne

Pale Male Waits, the Highbridge Red-tail Nest, and the Songbird Nest Report: Robin, Cowbird, Chipping Sparrow, Mourning Dove

 Photograph courtesy of http://www.palemale.com/
 Pale Male as dapper and self assured as usual surveys his domain on Saturday from one of his favorite perches on the Linda Building.  No doubt as usual, mentally absorbing the many prey patterns spread out before him which he will put to good use when the mad rush of hunting for hungry eyasses begins.

 Photo taken on April 28th.  Things have changed since then.
 Just exactly whose eggs are what has become slightly clearer.  This year the Cowbird eggs do not match those of the, I think now, Chipping Sparrow host.  They were the brown heavily speckled eggs as opposed to the pale greenish blue with a few flecks as were all the eggs last season-both Chipping and Cowbird.

 The nestling above with the giant red mouth is a cowbird chick.

It turns out that one of the ways that a parent bird knows who is hungriest in many song bird chicks is that that chick's mouth will have the heaviest blood flow.  Hence another survival quirk for Cowbird young is a constantly bright red mouth.

 

The nest in question is deep inside this clematis.  Early the morning of the 29th I heard an enormous racket and looked out the window next to the trellis. It was a Crows vs every-other-bird-in-the-neighborhood melee.  By the time I got outside the Crows were being chased across the park by a feathered posse of mostly Grackles.  I took a very very quick peek into the nest.  I couldn't see  the chick and it appears to have been predated.  I'm not sure about the status of the eggs, (I got a glimpse of one of the pale ones), as to get a really good look requires a tippie toe stance and some peering as opposed to seeing the red mouth of the chick which really stands out.   I didn't want to be the last straw for abandonment of the nest by gawking  if it wasn't abandoned already.

Later in the day I did see a parent whip into the Clematis and I didn't see it come out again right away so perhaps there is still hope.  I'll chance another look once in a day or two.

THE CASE OF THE EXTREMELY LOW ROBIN'S NEST

 

Remember the nest that we'd decided belonged to a Robin?  Indeed it does.  Note that sky blue egg.  

In fact it appears to belong to a rather human habituated Robin though she will flush out by a surprise thump of the front door. (I've stopped using it for the time being.) 


This is the lowest Robin's nest I've ever seen.  The bush is less than four feet tall besides the fact that if you stand on the front step you could reach out and pull mom's tail without even leaning.  Look carefully near the top of the bush and you'll see her tail feathers sticking out the back of the nest.  Though perhaps the fact that the nest is so close to human habitation may be one of its selling points. 

The nest robbers, mostly Crows here, (The Blue Jays were extirpated from the area by West Nile virus.), never come this close to the front door. 

 I have a feeling that since the township's new garbage collection agency supplies large covered wheeled bins for both recycling and garbage that perhaps any domestic garbage picking, if any, the Crows were doing has been completely eliminated, making nest robbing, once again, an important source of Crow protein.

That is until the softball games in the park with their resultant refuse of hot dog and brat goodies in open cans take some of the heat off.

THE CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING DOVE NEST

 

Remember the dove nest in the tall bush?  Yesterday I noticed that the twigs appeared disturbed and there was no dove eye peering through the greenery.  

The nest has disappeared.   Not to worry too much as  there were no feathers at all to give away the demise or even the disturbance of the parents.

And do check out Rob Schmunk's beautiful photos of Martha and the eyasses at the Highbridge nest on his blog at--  http://morningsidehawks.blogspot.com/

Donegal Browne

Pale Male, Ginger Lima, Seed Robin, Great BlueHeron and the Rubber Duckie Car

Photo courtesy of palemale.com

Once again Ginger Lima stays late on the nest. But what really struck me in this photo is how much her her head and over shoulder coloration looks like Isolde of the Cathedral Nest at St. John the Divine.

Photo courtesy of Rik Davis and The NYTimes

Ginger Lima, left, and Pale Male, right.

A little silly but as is often said by motion picture stars, Pale Male being a motion picture star, "Any press is good press."

Enough of Violet and Bobby, live from the nest — you know, the red-tailed hawks at New York University with the video feed. Inquiring minds want to know what’s with Pale Male and all the girlfriends.

The Ann Landers of red-tailed hawk sociology, as John Blakeman calls himself, cleared his throat and talked about mate-swapping.

Apparently Pale Male, the red-tail with the Fifth Avenue address, has been doing that lately, Mr. Blakeman said, even though it “violates everything we know about red-tails.”

Ah, yes. It’s spring, and you don’t have to be Tennyson to fancy that some New Yorkers’ thoughts will turn to Pale Male’s love life.

There is a lot to report.

For more.... The NYTimes

The Peregrine Falcon on 888 finally moved and Brett Odom reports, that no, there are no eggs after all. At least on that spot. She just appears to like to sit there in a strange crouch for long periods of time. Eggnant?

Seed Robin darts out from under the glider scaring the other foraging birds away. He then stands there grumpily crunching a seed in his beak.

And the Great Blue Heron makes his daily trip across the sky near dusk.

Plus for those fond of little birdie whimsy, The Madison WI, Rubber Duckie Car.

Tuesday Miscellany

Photograph by Pat Gonzalez, as is the following email.

Donegal:

Amazing adventure today at the Botanical Garden. First up, not one but TWO large red tail hawks on the same branch. I wasn't able to get close enough to see if one of them was my pal who I've been photographing the last couple of month. I've been meaning to look at all the photos for any distinctive field marks. Anyhow, one flew off landing on a tree in the Bronx Zoo which is across the way, the other flew under the canopy of some pine trees..... WITH A BRANCH IN ITS BEAK. Should I break out the rattle and cigars in anticipation of a visit from the stork? : )

Well Pat, it's quite possible that you can anticipate natal festivities, though we have had cases in Manhattan, Charlotte and Pale Male Jr. last season are a case in point, where they brought twigs and bark to their previous nest site but never laid any eggs. They took the year off for some reason.

(By the way, big news about Charlotte and Pale Male Jr., the second post down after this one!)

Photo:Pat Gonzalez
Later, I saw my pal red-tail in the native forest. All of a sudden a HUGE raptor flew towards him with talons extended ready to pounce. At the last second, Red-tail turned his head and saw what was coming, jumping off about a second before the bird landed on the exact same branch occupied by Red-tail.


Photo:Pat Gonzalez
It was my pal great horned owl. Yikes! I guess it was safe to assume he was defending his area as he was just a few yards away from the branch where I usually see him perched.
Pat

As the photographs had been modified they no longer had the original time they were taken so I've emailed Pat asking what time of day the Great Horned Owl was out and about chasing Red-tails. Shouldn't she have been asleep?

NOW TO THE WISCONSIN REPORT--

We are now well over 48 straight hours of cold drenching rain.

The various local rivers are at or near flood and still the rain falls, incessantly, heavily. I went out to check on the Red-tail nests and the vernal ponds I've been keeping an eye on.

The second nest on County M, N2, has lost a side, and a pair of Red-tails was seen circling in the sky above the area.

N2 was not built nearly as sturdily as N1 (above) and I suspected that perhaps it was a first nest. Better to have fallen now than later. Perhaps they will build a replacement nest, learning from their first attempt, and try again.

Buffleheads in a vernal pond near Clear Lake off Hwy 59

There are a variety of water fowl: Mallards, Canvasbacks, Ring-necks, and Canada Geese. They glide, paddle, dip, and dabble around the pond's surface. They being ducks don't find the rain the least problematical.

Nor did this Sandhill Crane making her way to the marsh over the hill.

Meanwhile in the front yard on Rainbow Drive, a flock of over 200 Cedar Waxwings took turns sitting in the Willow on watch and eating the Mountain Ash berries in the adjacent tree.

The Robin and his mate sat in the lower branches of the Mountain Ash for some time watching the large flock of Cedar Waxwings. There was an intention on the Robins part but exactly what it was I'm not sure. Eventually some decision seemed to have been made and the Robins went to ground to forage.

And the rain, cold and constant, continued.

IN NYC, CITY BIRDER HAS NEWS ON BIG MAMA AND JUNIOR--

http://citybirder.blogspot.com/2009/03/hawk-update.html

And from New York Times gleaner of significant articles of interest Bill Walters, information which was suspected and has now been quantified-

SCIENCE / ENVIRONMENT March 20, 2009

One Third of U.S. Bird Species Endangered, Survey Finds

By CORNELIA DEAN

The survey found that over the last four decades, grassland birds had declined by 40 percent and birds in arid lands by 30 percent.

D.B.
P.S. If you haven't seen them yet there are news updates following this post on the Riverside Park Red-tails plus Pale Male Jr. and Charlotte, posted Tuesday.

KAREN'S HERON, SALLY'S KENTUCKY BIRDS, AND THE WI LOCAL REPORT

Photograph by Karen Anne Kolling

Karen, who lives near the water is attempting to protect the verge area from human modification by documenting the wildlife. She sent this photo in for a positive identification. Now I've not dealt with shore birds in decades, raptors having filled my life for the most part, but I ID this bird as an immature Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodius. Any nays from out there?



Photograph by Donna Browne

Dear Donna,

I am not a great birder but I do love them and every year I have several feeders outside on my deck, and I enjoy watching the activity there. I was thrilled to see a pair of orioles early this summer and went out and bought a feeder and stocked it up but never saw them again. I have seen a pair of scarlet tanagers (a first) and two male indigo buntings in the early summer, and one stayed around but I never saw mate or babies.

The usual suspects were here this summer: a pair of chickadees, a pair of titmice, 2 pair of cardinals, a bunch of house sparrows, 6-8 gold finches, a pair of hummers(and now I have a bunch of hummers that have air wars above my feeders); at least one pair of house finches; a new guy, a very lonely chipping sparrow who hung out with a pair of white throats who have come and gone all summer, and a Carolina wren who never seemed to have mate this year; I don't know what happened to her, they have nested every year and fed young in a box on a little tree outside the house, but I have never seen the babies fledge to my feeders or anywhere else. They stay very close to the spruce tree so perhaps I just never have seen them, and they do nest out of my regular view. Mr Wren-I love his song- stays around all year and occasionally comes near the feeder, more often he sits in the flower pot or chair back nearby and sings, but the female is not seen except in the spring of previous years.

The cardinals have had at least one clutch, a late one by the looks of the scraggly offspring that are still begging. The house finches had 2 babies with them at the feeder, but I have never seen baby chickadees or titmice although I have seen them making trips back and forth to the spots I think they are nesting in as if feeding young.

There are also a bunch of house sparrows and they had some young, too, I don't even try to keep track of them. My downy woodpeckers have not been around since winter, I miss them. I have a white breasted nuthatch and a brown creeper on occasion also.

This year and last year the birds had very late clutches, I assume 2nd clutches as I have no nests to observe but the begging scruffy fledglings are hard to miss in August-September. I thought that was really late for babies last year but I have them again this year, too. We had a very dry early summer last year; this year it was quite wet at that time but we have had a 3 week dry spell and are just now getting rain.

The Robins had 3 clutches last year but I have seen no activity this year; perhaps they moved their nest. I have a mature red shouldered hawk that feeds rarely at my ornamental pond (overgrown this year and has only frogs and lilies) which the deer also enjoy.

There has been a juvenile Cooper's on occasion out in the edge of the woods. It got something gray with flashes of white earlier this spring, and I hoped it was NOT one of my chickadees!. I see a juvenile every year but never the adult coop, so I do not know if they are nesting nearby or not. Mama deer showed up with two brand new tiny spotted fawns about 3 weeks ago, also late I think, but I have seen other moms, all with two babies with spots, along the highway in the past few weeks so it isn't just at my house! I have not seen any baby squirrels this year.

Don't know if that is of interest or not. I haven't noticed much change except the wren and the robins. The late clutches are what I find odd the past two years. I just am not used to seeing begging babies in September for goodness sake!

Sally Seyal, Prospect, KY (wooded suburb outside of Louisville)

Sally,

I often see the juvenile Cooper's Hawks that predate the feeders but the adults are a different story. They have learned far more stealth and I rarely see an adult unless I come round a corner and they and I surprise one another over the wood pile for instance or the Crows and squirrels spot the hawk and their mobbing brings it to my attention.

I too see Orioles, both Orchards and Baltimores for a few days in early summer, and then they disappear. They prefer a more woodsy environment, than mine, though I have numerous mature trees, as do the neighbors, but evidently not enough. Or we don't present enough privacy for them, one never knows their individual criteria. I assume they are on their way through to woodlots and luscious local orchards. That may also be the case with yours, or perhaps they move into your near-by woods and stay there to protect the location of their nest. In that case you may yet coax them out in a hard year.

Young Black-capped Chickadees? They are so tiny and are supposed to stay hidden being fed by their parents while they learn to fly from the ground up. Though I always have one or two pairs that breed nearby, the young tend to go unseen.

In 2007, I heard from a neighbor that one Chickadee fledgling had taken refuge in her garage, cared for by her parents, and stayed until it looked like one of the adults. Therefore who would know that she had just been recently fledged.

In 2008, I found the Chickadee chick pictured above and featured in the blog, begging his brains out from the rhubarb patch. His parents were desperately attempting to lure her to a small sheltering evergreen across the park path. After numerous adventures, they eventually succeeded and I presume he survived as there are currently more Black-caps visiting the sunflower seed feeder now, than when the season started. They are tough to keep track of as they tend to be virtually identical, not to mention teeny. D.B.

I too have been seeing evidence of fewer and later young this season. For instance, last week a mixed flock of migrating birds blew in following the trailing edge of a storm.

Within the flock was a male Robin with juveniles, one of which he was still feeding. Obviously the youngster was not fully weaned yet (up right in photo) but also obviously as of the sighting he was keeping up with the other migrants, at least so far. Fascinating.

In 2006 the local Robin's nest had a perfect season: 3 clutches with 4 young each who fledged. In 2007, their success was also respectable. In 2008, there was Garage Boy, (see Wednesday, June 11, 2008 http://palemaleirregulars.blogspot.com/search?q=Doorstep+Dove) but by late July as things became very dry, there wasn't a Robin to be seen in the area. They had moved on.

The Cardinals produced one male fledgling in the territory that I saw. Though in 2007, as a first year pair, they produced none successfully.

Doorstep Dove and Friend, the Mourning Dove pair who have been featured on the blog since they first bonded in 2006, raised 3 chicks to maturity that year. In 2007, by the end of the season, they and 5 well grown young could be observed. The family group could be seen gathered together every evening at sunset, sometimes for as long as an hour--grouped round the edge of the birdbath, taking in the last rays of the sun.

In June 2008, Doorstep and Friend had an unusual rare brood of three young though they weren't nearly as apparent as their young had been in previous seasons. Now Friend and Doorstep briefly appear at the bath come evening for a drink and then briskly depart. Though two or three other Doves visit the feeder with them during the day. The change of behavior may well be due to the lurking Cooper's Hawk that arrives in late afternoon. I don't have a true count of their success this season as they, like most of the breeding birds in the area have become far more wary of foraging in the open due to the hawk. I tentatively put their count at 3 surviving young.

Unfortunately there is a hunting season on Mourning Doves in Wisconsin which makes me quite heartsick. The report from the Wisconsin DEC for hunters, reports the Mourning Dove population is far lower coming into hunting season than it has been for the five previous seasons. I do so hope Friend and Doorstep will still be there when I return to Wisconsin.

The Chipping Sparrows who ordinarily produce a brood before being heavily predated by Cowbirds for the rest of the breeding season, missed their first clutch. One Cowbird chick was fostered and then they produced five chicks of their own in late August when the Cowbirds had already moved on.

(Interesting how nature deals with this sort of thing isn't it?)

The Wisconsin Turkey observers report that many first clutches were unsuccessful and some hens have second clutched, with the poults being currently only the size of Grouse as opposed to the almost mature sized young that would be usual for September.

As in Kentucky, the deer were still on the move in late Spring and young arrived much later than usual with a high incidence of twins.

The White-breasted Nuthatch has returned from breeding and is busy hatching sunflower seeds into the bark of the Maple trees in the backyard.

One of the winter WI birds, a Dark-eyed Junco, came by for one day, fed up and then continued on his way.

Photograph by Karen Anne Kolling

And the mammals?

Fluffy the Opossum, hasn't been caught under the feeder in the middle of the night all summer. I fully expect her/him to return to the feeder come cold weather.

Though "someone" is yet again eating the ripening tomatoes before I can. The still growing 8 inch watermelon that was on the vine disappeared a week and a half ago.

It occurred to me that I may have been unfairly blaming Fluffy for all these garden predations. Last week before by return to NYC, I flipped the back light on in the middle of the night looking for him and what should I see? A very fat raccoon bottom complete with lush tail heading rapidly out of the circle of light. A first! I turned off the light, whipped out the door, and heard raccoon claws scrambling on tree bark. I then took photographs, blindly in the dark of course, of all the trees in the direction of the sound. Bringing them up later with the adaptive lighting mode of the photo editor, brought no joy. That chubby bottomed mammal had eluded me.

Squirrels? The breeding female in the territory produced two broods this season. Of the initial litter on first appearance, the three young had very very sparse fur. Their skin was completely visible through their coats. It was unclear as to whether the issue was some kind of parasite that had infested the nest, a dietary deficiency or what? The afflicted squirrels would appear and lay flat on the picnic table in the sun for long periods. Unable to pin down the problem, beyond the usual fare from the feeding area, I began offering more nuts, and fruit. Eventually, for whatever reason, their fur slowly began to thicken and now their coats look normal, though their tails are still on the skimpy side.

The second litter of four appeared with normal fur and proceeded in maturation.

New this season is the appearance of the resident Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel, Pancake. And now and again, a new phenomena, one of the shrews periodically goes for something on the ground of the feeding area.

Chewy the Chipmunk is still in residence and another smaller Chipmunk has also appeared sporadically to feed. I did not see a sudden influx of a Chipmunk litter under the feeders but that doesn't mean there wasn't one. Litters have occurred before and the only reason I realized they had occurred was that two young did themselves in by youthful indiscretions. Chipmunks tend toward the solitary and are seldom seen together, at least in my feeding area. Though I did see a group coming out of the hedgerow to feed at Thresherman's Park.

Nature tends to take care of herself if allowed what has unfortunately become the luxury of being allowed to do so.

Donna Browne