Spring has sprung!

[CHF]

They are lovely photos, thank you, GrannyMac.

[GrannyMac]

I hope to get some more as they develop, but my granddaughter has gone back to uni today and she's been sending the photos.

[Mups]

I just looked up about when baby Robins leave their safe nests and it said this:

*

Baby robins typically leave the nest (fledge) about 13 to 16 days after hatching. From the time eggs are laid to the moment the chicks leave, the entire process takes about a month. 
They often leave before they can fly perfectly, spending several days on the ground learning to fly.

*

I never dreamed they left home that young,  they must be very vulnerable still.  
Good luck babies.  

[Scrumpy]

Interesting to read the information above..

[muddy]

I just looked up about when baby Robins leave their safe nests and it said this:

*

Baby robins typically leave the nest (fledge) about 13 to 16 days after hatching. From the time eggs are laid to the moment the chicks leave, the entire process takes about a month.
They often leave before they can fly perfectly, spending several days on the ground learning to fly.

*

I never dreamed they left home that young,  they must be very vulnerable still. 
Good luck babies. 

They must be lucky to survive 

[CHF]

They must be lucky to survive

Oh my goodness, they are very vulnerable. 

[Mups]

They must be lucky to survive

Yes,  I agree.
But on the other hand,  perhaps that is why nature gives them multiple eggs to hatch,  to hopefully increase the chances of one or two surviving.   Unlike us,  who usually only give birth to one at a time.  

I suppose when baby birds first leave the nest and can't fly properly,  that is when they are most vulnerable to predators.  

[klondike]

Robins are pretty common so it must work. I think most small birds operate on that sort of schedule. They are safer from predation outside a nest than in one. Magpies are pretty common too  

[GrannyMac]

That's true. Daughter in law says they'll have to keep their cat indoors once the babies hatch. He's used to so much freedom, that will be hard.  The dogs won't be bothered. 

[muddy]

I have a big hedge around my garden .
It's is hard work to keep in order and we have considered replacing it with a fence .
However the little birds love it ,they stay close and in it .
Where I live there are plenty of hawks always on the look out for little birds and other prey .

[klondike]

Sparrowhawks have had feasts in the gardens of two of my houses but pigeons both times. That includes one here in the middle of a town. I now regularly see red kite which were re-introduced to the Nene valley some years back and are now very common to see along the river. They are scavengers though rather than genuine birds of prey.

I think cats are high on the list of predators for small birds but so are corvids. Nature is indeed red in tooth and claw and is often not nice to see. I kept a CCTV video which caught the demise of the pigeon here but won't post it as it really isn't the sort of thing most people would want to see. The biggest problem for most creatures though is humanity and that's without even trying.

When siting a bird table make sure it is well away from hiding places. In one house we had to move one as a small bird of prey - I forget which but think it was a merlin - used to sit in a nearby conifer waiting to ambush a visitor. Perhaps I should have just left it - everything has to eat.

[muddy]

There are loads of red kites where I live ( Wiltshire) it really has been the greatest re introduction of a species - they were extinct .
Now they are everywhere .
They have taken the M4 right up to the outskirts of London .( plenty of road kill) 

They really are quite big a sort of smaller version of an eagle .

[CHF]

I live in Northumberland and wild birds all but disapeared because of bird 
flu. There are still many missing, all the Finch family, for instance and
many more. I'm sorry I have forgotten the names. The Wood Pigeons 
are fine, and I have seen Blackbirds of late. Hopefully, over time, all the 
usual birds will return. 

[Scrumpy]

I don't get as many birds in the garden as I once did.. 
Nothing has changed, so I have no idea where they have gone..
 I don't think I have seen a Robin this year..

[Mups]

I don't get as many birds in the garden as I once did..
Nothing has changed, so I have no idea where they have gone..
 I don't think I have seen a Robin this year..

People often say Robins are territorial little birds,  and usually visit alone,  but last year I had two visit together all year,  and they are back this year,  both of them.   They come and go together, and feed together.
They sometimes chase the other small birds away - like Wrens and Great Tits etc,  but never fight each other.
I mix their food  e.g. seed mix plus suet pellets and meal worms.  They have got water to drink, and bigger bird baths for them to splash in.    I never leave food out overnight because of encouraging the Rats.