THESE four beautiful eggs tell us beyond any doubt that winter is over – despite the awful weather!
As you can see, the beautiful moss and straw bedding is perfectly dry – thanks to a bird-loving reader who provided an unusual nest site that robins find irresistible.
Robins, spideog in Irish, hide their nests perhaps better than any other – and that’s saying something, considering the lengths birds go to conceal their most precious procession: their family. Robins live in most of our gardens and actually nest on the ground, usually hidden in the middle of the thickest undergrowth. Dúlra once spent days watching a pair at the bottom of the garden before finding the nest among ivy at the base of a tree – he would never have found it had there been eggs, but he was able to watch the parents bringing food to the chicks.
There is one way to find that secluded nest – that's by providing them with their ideal home. And like this reader, you can even watch them rearing their family without leaving the house!
The reader hides a couple of old metal teapots among the garden shrubs, putting them on their side and leaving the lid off in the hope robins can enter. The secure, dry dome is exactly what robins are looking for.
You can buy nestboxes designed for robins – Dúlra’s got one nailed to the fence, but the birds have never shown any interest in it. If only he’d bought an old second-hand teapot instead.
The first robin egg was laid on April 1 at a time when our weather was even worse than it is now. It’s hard to believe that any bird would consider breeding right now, but robins will squeeze in two or even three clutches of eggs before summer’s out.
HOME HACK: An old teapot can be the perfect nest for a robin
Dúlra should have known they were already breeding because an incredible thing happens – they disappear. Robins are friendly and bold and that red breast is hard to miss – but as soon as they have a nest to protect, they go into invisible mode. Dúlra has remarked time and time again over the past fortnight that the garden robins have simply disappeared, despite the fact that he fed them all through winter. Had they abandoned him after all he’d done for them?
It took this reader’s photographs to remind him that they are the earliest garden breeder – and when you build a nest on the ground, you have to ensure not to attract predators like cats. And so they stop singing and if you see one, it’ll be trying to avoid attention by flying low among the undergrowth.
If the danger is great now, it’ll only multiply in a couple of weeks’ time when the flightless chicks leave that cosy nest. Suddenly their invisibility cloak won’t work and they’ll be at the mercy of any number of predators.
We can only hope that after such a cosy start to life in a waterproof teapot, these baby robins won’t go for their tea!
• It was great to see the house martins back in Belfast this week. Dúlra spotted two of them over the Waterworks on Monday evening, having returned from Africa to be greeted by dark clouds and rain. These birds arrive here a couple of weeks before swifts as they have to build or rebuild or repair their mud homes on the side of houses.
Dúlra has a couple of artificial house martin nests under the eaves of his roof but he has never been blessed with any breeding birds. As soon as he got home on Monday evening he plugged in the amplifier and hung out the mini-speaker once more, blasting house martin calls into the Belfast skies. If only he lived near the Waterworks they’d hear it – but he’s hoping that a few stray birds happen to be passing and swoop down to find their ready-made homes!
•If you’ve seen or photographed anything interesting or have any nature questions, you can text Dúlra on 07801 414804.
