Read Derek Mooney’s diary of the Robin’s that have taken up residence in nest box in Derek’s back garden.

History
I first installed the nest box on the exterior wall of my utility room in 2006. I remember at the time people telling me it was too late because most of the birds had already paired off and found nest sites. Anyway to cut a long story short and because I know that birds don't read books, I thought that I might have a chance of getting a pair of Blue tits so I put up the nest box. Within hours of fixing the nest box to the wall I noticed a very inquisitive Blue tit literally ‘hanging’ around the box. Next day I saw what appeared to be the same bird fly in with nesting material. It was Good Friday and bizarre as it may seem it has been around Easter bank holiday period every year since that I notice Blue tits prospecting at my nest box. Terry Flanagan always says to me "maybe you just notice them around this time, but that doesn't mean they haven't been there before that". I know he’s right. 

So successful was the Blue tit project in my garden that I decided two years ago to install another nest box, slightly different to the Blue tit box in that the instead of having a circular opening to allow birds entry and exit this box has an open front so it can cater for larger birds such as the Robin and the Blackbird. About five years ago there was a Blackbird nesting in Grisilenia hedge that runs along the dividing wall between my neighbours garden and mine so I thought that would be the best place to put the box and this is what I did early in 2009 before the breeding season.

There was no activity in the nest box last year but I was delighted to discover a fully constructed nest in the box at the beginning of April. Saturday 4th April 2010 to be precise. I know this because I keep a rough diary, which is something that you should do at home because it gives you a time-line and from that you can approximate when the birds will lay the eggs, when the eggs with hatch and when the nestlings will fledge. 

Diary
Monday 26th April 2010
What a weekend it’s been! Brenda the Robin is now a Mammy. There were five eggs to begin with, four of them definitely hatched but I can’t quite make out the fifth. Did it hatch or not?

Anyway I was delighted when I opened my email today to receive these fantastic pictures from one of our listeners Geraldine Hurley. As you can see from Geraldine’s diary, she is definitely a fan!


Tuesday 19th. April [PM]
Today I tuned into the Mooneycam to observe the Robin. What a fantastically clear picture! I think the position of the camera is great because it allows us to see right down into the nest. The Robin has made a very comfortable-looking nest indeed and so clean, at least to the naked eye. Today, happily, is a nice fresh day and with any luck the weather will stay that way for the forseeable future.

Not very much to relate really about Robin's day.Her schedule was mostly incubation,leaving the nest for short periods of time anywhere from half a minute to between 4-5 minutes, coming back and settling herself down on the 5 eggs again. She remained very alert the whole time whilst on the nest and I noticed she also reacted to other bird calls[blackbird], raising up her head to listen. I didn't at any time while I was viewing, see her mate visiting the nest with food for her. On the Mooney Website the due date of hatching is " Sunday" 28th April. Should that read Sunday 25th as Wednesday is the 28th.?

Wednesday 20th. April [AM]
Another very nice day. Great, clear picture of the nest.The Robin's day was very much the same as yesterday.Her mate didn't visit at all during the time I was online .Hopefully there is one .

Thursday 22nd. April [AM]
Great day weather-wise. Bright and sunny.This morning 10.23am I was delighted to see her mate visiting the nest with food. It was such a flying visit, literally,that I almost missed it.No worries there then for the moment. The Mooney website has been amended. It is Sunday 25th as the due date for hatching!

Robin's routine hasn't changed. Incubating, leaving the nest for about 4-5 minutes at a time and settling down again. The eggs, to my eye, seem to have become a little more elongated. Is it my imagination or is this the natural process as hatching time draws near? Perhaps Derek, you could answer that on tomorrow's show. Today in the background I can hear House Sparrows chirping away and also Derek's "favourite" bird, the Magpie!! Will continue to monitor throughout the day. I am really enjoying this and find it very therapeutic as I'm sure lots of other people do too.

[PM]
Robin remains very alert. Craning her neck upwards at the slightest noise outside.I could hear a Great tit warbling away in the background. She was fed by her mate around 12.34pm and again at 6.39pm. The rest of her day while I was observing was the same . Preening, incubating and leaving the nest for short periods.

Friday 23rd. April [AM]
Today is a glorious day. I logged on 7.45am. Robin was on the nest. Every now and then she got up suddenly from the eggs and looked down at them as if to say "what's going on here?" I am wondering if at this near-hatching stage she is actually feeling movement from them and that's what makes her get up and turn them. I have not seen the mate. I did hear another robin in the background and so did she because she gave a short little chirping sound when she heard it but he didn't come to the nest. What a waiting game this is for her. However,there are enough outside noises to keep her from getting bored and she was beautifully serenaded at 10am by the melodious, mimical melodies of the Song Thrush and a little later by the not so melodious Wren. But--beggars can't be choosers!

[PM]
Weather still lovely. I haven't seen any sign of her mate since logging in at 12.45pm. She has chirped twice though as if making a calling sound to him. Logged off 2pm.

Log-on 15.52. She made a little calling sound as if answering her mate, and flew out of the nest.. Back within a minute.. 16.40 her mate came to the entrance with food. He chirps[if that's the right word] as if to say "here's the grub", passes it from his beak to hers and he's gone in a flash. No hanging around. From what I remember of last year's Blue Tit he actually came into the nest to feed his mate and spent time making sure she got it all.
Robin has now been named "Brenda".
Logged off 4.30.

Saturday 24th. April. [AM]
log-on 10.29am...No change in weather so far. "Brenda" still looks well and perfectly groomed! Remains very alert. She got up suddenly, looked at the eggs, moved one and settled down again.
10.29..preening[typical female!], suddenly got up, looked at eggs. I'm convinced she feels movement in the eggs.
10.48...Brenda is listening to the tunes of a Blackbird.
12Noon...off nest.
12.04...back. Preening, moved eggs.
12.55...off nest. I am sure I saw one egg actually move slightly and think there's some action inside the shell.
12.59... Brenda back to nest.
1pm..She heard a "chirp" from outside, flew out and was back half a minute later. Perhaps fed by her mate.
13.43...Really alert. Something outside has got her slightly on edge. Craning her head upwards and also looking up toward the camera! This behaviour lasted 4 minutes. She settled down then.
13.58....She gave a loud chirp and flew out. I could see movement from one of the eggs. A slight rocking motion and what looks like a little black "spot" on the shell.I think the "spot" is a hole. She was back 2.02pm approx.
17.12pm....She left the nest and I could see rocking movement in another egg. "Brenda" Robin back 5 minutes later. 17.18.....Logged off.

18.40...Logged on....She was off the nest. In the hour and 20 minutes I was logged off, TWO eggs had hatched. BRENDA ROBIN IS A MOMMA!!!
18.41...She 's back and fed one chick and sat on the nest.
18.46...Her mate called out to her. She answered back.
18.52... She left the nest. THIRD egg has hatched. The chick immediately deviated to the other two to keep warm.
18.55..... Mother back to nest, then flies back out with the shell. Comes back immediately and settles.
19.12.... Fourth egg looks like it's starting to crack.
19.30approx... FOURTH egg hatched. Logged off.



Saturday 24th April 2010
Due to commitments with rehearsals at the Helix for "Fame', I have asked Terry Flanagan to update the diary over the weekend.

Saturday afternoon and Brenda looks somewhat agitated in the nest. All is well with the eggs, but she is uneasy as she incubates. Maybe she can hear or feel something happening within the eggs. Maybe hatching will soon take place.

At 6.30pm she leaves the nest and we can see two eggs have hatched. They are blind and naked. Brenda returns almost immediately and settles down, but not for long. At 6.50pm she again leaves the nest and we can clearly see a third chick, this time actually emerging from the egg. It manages to half escape before Brenda reappears at the nest to feed the young and despite being still semi-enclosed in the egg, clearly opens its mouth and is fed by the mother. The mother leaves the nest again for a very short time at 7.10pm and at 7.22pm, the male appears at the nest, bringing food to the female.

This has taken me by surprise. I thought they would hatch on Sunday and also thought that they would hatch much earlier in the day, so that the parents would be able to provide food for a full day. Still Nature knows best.

Over the next hour or so the female leaves the nest every 20 minutes or so, returning with food for the young, who immediately on her return, open their moths unbelievably wide. You can clearly see the food in the adult birds mouth. Green caterpillars, also known as defoliating caterpillars are quickly scoffed by the hungry babies.

At 8.57pm, at which stage it is now quite dark, the male appears at the nest and brings food to the female. He quickly flies off. At 9.08pm (now very dark), the female leaves the nest again, with a large piece of egg shell in her mouth and we can clearly see that a fourth chick has hatched. She arrives back at 9.11pm and carefully settles herself onto the chicks and remaining egg. However, she still appears somewhat agitated and at 9.17pm can be seen standing up in the nest and eating small portions of egg shell. At 9.40pm she again rises off the nest, stands on the edge of the cup and has a good look inside. She settles down for the night.

It's unbelievable to think that such tiny creatures will eventually develop into flying adults. They look tiny beside the adult when she is feeding them. And she isn't exactly big. Adult robins weigh less than an ounce (about 20 grams) and these little babies each weigh less than a gram. Incredible!

Keep watching and see how they develop over the next 14 days or so, to hopefully fledge the nest and enter the big bad world!



Wednesday 21st April 2010 - 'wing tuck'
The time now is 22:59 and I'm looking at the Robin. She is still active. It's extraordinary and I'm wondering if she ever gets a good night sleep at all? The answer is YES and NO. After some research I can reveal that our feathered friends don't have the dead-to-the-world snore fest like we do. Come to think of it, neither do I. I can't remember the last time I got a full eight hours. It seems my friend the Robin is so terrified of being eaten by some deadly predator that she rarely falls into any kind of deep sleep at all. We (humans) have developed all sorts of fancy early warning systems (house alarms) to alert us to danger, the Robin on the other hand relies entirely on her own wits to see her safely through the night.

I also notice that the female is tucking her head under her wing and I'm wondering why she does this? Is she keeping herself warm? Is she using her wing to block out what light their is in an effort to get a better nights sleep? Apparently birds use the 'wing tuck' method in order to rest the neck muscles and to ensure better heat conservation. They do this by resting their heads on their backs while at the same time nuzzling their beaks into their back feathers. Now aren't you glad you read this update?

Tuesday 20th April 2010 – Missing notes from Derek’s diary

Several people have asked me Why are there are so many omissions from my diary?  Why haven’t I posted a diary for every day since the Robin began to incubate the eggs? To be honest I don’t want to bore you with too much information but in a nutshell here’s a synopsis of the last two weeks.

Most of the time the female is just sitting on the eggs. Occasionally I have seen the male feeding the female on the nest and from time to time I have noticed the female turning the eggs. Every now and again she leaves the nest to spend a cent and is usually gone for about two minutes or less.

Monday 19th April 2010 – Robin Cam goes live.

Monday 12th April 2010 - Robin incubating five eggs

I checked the nest at 18.40 on Monday 12th April 2010 and to my surprise I saw a Robin incubating five eggs. I now for sure that our mystery bird is a Robin. I'm delighted because I don't see many Robins in my garden and I know they can have two broods in a good year so there’s really good chance that of this nest box will a safe haven for generations of Robins to come. I hope!

Friday 10th April 2010-three eggs

I didn't check the nest on Thursday but On Friday 10th April 2010 there were three eggs in the nest. Whatever bird is laying the eggs appears to be laying one egg per day. At approximately 18.35 I saw a male blackbird fly into the hedge towards the nest site. So it has to be a blackbird I thought or is it?

Wednesday 8th April 2010 - first egg

I noticed the first egg in the nest box on Wednesday 8th April 2010 and from my notes I can tell you that I had no idea what species of bird owned the egg. I noted that it could be a Blackbird because of the light colour of the shell which to me looked a pale blue but I also noted that the my monitor is a bit ‘wonky’, I cant really be sure. On that same evening when I was in the garden I distinctly remember hearing the alarm call of the Robin. So could it be a Robin?