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Where We Left Off:
The entire staff of the Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency had parts to play in capturing an invited guest.
Rockin’ Robin:
This case was updated with video and summary from June 01, 2025.
Gus discovered two nests in the tall hedge formed by burning bushes. I had a difficult time seeing them through the green foliage that filled in all the spaces. I used my phone, a selfie stick, and a ladder to finally get a look at the nests.
The first one is high up and well out of reach for me. I could tell from my position on the ground using my parasol to hold branches out of the way, that this high nest was constructed with a lot of trash. Considering the strong winds we’ve been having, I’m never surprised that birds and critters utilize things like plastic in their nests. It’s an insulator from the cold. It’s certainly not great nor recommended, but the animals must have tested things and figured out what works for them.
The lower nest, however, was pristine. No human trash at all in its construction. Otherwise, both nests were similar in shape, like bowls. The second nest had one major difference: three bright blue eggs.
The Grumpy Old Man wanted to trim the hedge. I asked him not to. I offered alternatives such as using snips instead of a power tool like a hedge trimmer. I told him to stay away from those nests and showed him where they were. His concern was that the branches kept triggering one of the security cameras. My advice was to trim those branches back by hand. Did he listen? No, of course not. He used a power tool and cut the branches away so close to Nest #2 that it became exposed—no longer covered by the leafy security of the bushes. He admitted sorrowfully that he didn’t realize where the nest was exactly and how close he had come to it. He’s an animal lover for the most part and would never have jeopardized the eggs on purpose.
All of this started because a robin kept throwing itself at the French doors of Oliver’s suite to the patio. When not attacking its own reflection, the bird would stand guard there. This isn’t near the hedges at all.
The Cook kept voicing her concern over this robin’s behavior. I cleaned the window and the storage chest with a solution of bleach and water. Then I made a criss-crossed pattern with blue painter’s tape on the outside of the glass. This did stop the robin from trying to murder itself.
“It worked, but her cleaning made the windows streaky,” Oliver reported on me to The Butler.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said. I’m not denying that there was probably an eyeroll at this update. According to an episode of Bob’s Burgers, you can’t just clean bird goo off windows with Windex. Plus, we have the whole Avian Flu going around again.
“I’m only the messenger,” The Butler said.
The day after the hedges were trimmed, I went out and used my phone to reach up and take another photo of the inside of Nest #2 which was now easier to see and reach.
THERE WAS ANOTHER EGG!
I went back to the detective agency offices and told everyone. All of us were pretty sure that my first photos showed only three eggs. I went back upstairs to my computer and double-checked. Yes, three bright blue eggs. Now there were clearly four!
Is that how robins lay eggs? It was clearly not a cowbird infiltrating the nest. Their eggs aren’t blue. This required research.
I didn’t have time that day. The next morning, however, I inquired with our meditation teacher who is an expert at certain things in nature plus she grew up on a farm. She didn’t have any answers for us, only more questions.
“Go to Cornell’s site and look for answers there first,” Gus said from his penthouse/roof above his elaborate personal tavern which is above Oliver’s office.
Of course Cornell Labs would be the first place to look for information about birds. I knew that much. Yet, it was not the website to provide us with brand new-to-us information. That came from a site called Birds & Blooms:
Day 1 Female robin begins building her cup shaped nest out of twigs and grass with a mud base.
Day 8 Female lays first egg.
Day 9 Lays second egg.
Day 10 Lays third egg. Female may begin incubating.
Day 11 Lays fourth egg. Female commits to incubating.
None of us knew that robins laid an egg a day. That wasn’t the most intriguing fact either. A Birds & Blooms reader contributed to the article about life of baby robins and what she reported blew my mind! The answer to her observation came from Birding experts Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman. I bolded the section for emphasis:
“Usually robin nests in my yard have three eggs, but last year I saw eight. Is that normal or are multiple robins using the same nest?” asks Birds & Blooms reader Sommer Raines.
Kenn and Kimberly say, “It’s unlikely that one robin produced all eight of those eggs. An American robin usually lays a clutch of three or four eggs. When a nest holds six to eight robin eggs, two females probably are laying eggs in the nest—perhaps competing for the site until one gives up. So what you’ve found is truly unusual, and it’s an example of the fascinating discoveries that come with careful observation.”
This post will publish on Day 13 of the incubation. We may have to visit the nest and see if there is an important update to append.
Update 01-June-2025
We’ve continued our observations of the nest and have devastating news. All of us were excited to see fourth egg appear in the nest. There were a couple days of rain which kept me from checking on the nest. When they hatched, the hatchlings were in a snuggled pile, but it appears that all four were there. Maybe, only three were. The next check-in, there were only two. Then one. With only one hatchling left, we hoped it would survive. Then, the nest was empty.
Case Findings:
Why did a robin keep attacking Oliver’s glass door? Could the hedge be trimmed without disturbing the nest that was occupied? How many eggs do robins lay? Do they share nests? The cats and humans started this case with many questions. Fortunately, we were able to find answers that were necessary in keeping the birds safe.
As a side note, Oliver and I are happy to report that the US Feather Atlas website is back up and seems functional. It had been taken down. It’s still only a searchable database for wing feathers, but it’s a great place to start. After you become familiar with the feathers you might see in your area, we recommend FeatherBase which requires you to know which birds to look up and then compare those collections to what you have found. It’s a clever system where you can take measurements on the screen. It also covers many countries.
Case Status: Ongoing until we see the hatchlings leave the nest
Resources:
Cornell Labs, American Robin Life History