I feel used... have been dumped

VeeEmmy

I am new to the bird watching addiction, hooked bad!

During the 2 big snows in Wexford "my" robins found my front garden and its generous supply of a variety of delicious, body warming, high energy morsels. So they stayed around.

I had at least two ... and each would not tolerate the other to be nearby.

About 3 weeks ago, I saw them hanging out together, munching the goodies in the same place, etc. I figure mother nature was working her magic- blossoming love.

Now I haven't seen them since!

Oh suuuure, hang around and eat my food, then when it's apparently time to get down to business, go elsewhere! I'm crushed. They are my favourites. I bought goodies just for them, hoping they'd nest close to me. And they dump me without so much as even a text message!

Do robins tend to return to previous nesting areas and my garden wasn't one of those places? Thanks for the food, buh-byeeee.

Is it too late to lure them back to my garden?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

In the winter, our native Robins are joined by Scandinavian birds, and a few continental birds but generally young Robins here rarely move further than a few miles from where they were born. Chances are, if they fed in your garden this Winter, they will be from the area and not now be far away. Robins can nest in the most unlikely places but most go un-noticed. They do not re-uss old nests. I'd imagine you'll see more of them when breeding, and the feeding of young begins, in late March.

VeeEmmy

Thanks very much, Srameen. I hope you are right. I have a lot to learn. It's hard to learn about all of them at once. Enjoying them very much though, all the different birds. Teeny little coal tits turned up after the snow was past. Brave little chancers! They come back to the feeders after being disturbed by one of us opening a door or walking by even before the little blue tits now.
Thanks again. Hope to see the robins back.

Mothman

You could get a surprise later with a few fledglings around.

Do you do much work in the garden? Turning up worms etc..

Graces7

Rayden Screeching Mink wrote: »

In the winter, our native Robins are joined by Scandinavian birds, and a few continental birds but generally young Robins here rarely move further than a few miles from where they were born. Chances are, if they fed in your garden this Winter, they will be from the area and not now be far away. Robins can nest in the most unlikely places but most go un-noticed. They do not re-uss old nests. I'd imagine you'll see more of them when breeding, and the feeding of young begins, in late March.

I thought robins were hatched?;)

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

In that case you and I were both hatched. But I refuse to be drawn into a pedantic discussion on the use of a word; suffice to say the OED contributes: Born - Brought into life - Brought into existence. Hatch - To cause (an egg or eggs) to produce young. In my Life Sciences & Zoology textbooks the hatching of an egg is referred to as the moment of birth.