Robin nest protection 🪺

[BlueO]

Hello everyone! So I have a robin nest on my property, but I didn’t find it a magpie did. We have lots of birds here that make a lot of cute little nests but magpies and raccoons are always eating the eggs or babies. Robin’s l especially love and I really want them to stay safe. I have tried to shoot a magpie but they are so smart and if you have a gun they seem to sense it. Raccoons stay away after one been shot on the property but I can’t get a magpie.

Any help to protect this nest would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Debbie292d]

Where is the robin making its nest? Most make their nest in trees/bushes. If that's where it is, there's not much you can do, unfortunately as it's illegal to take or move their nests or eggs.

 

[Qwerty3159]

Magpies are a protected species in the US and it would be wise to not talk about attempting to kill them.

The American robin is the most numerous bird on the continent and the reason they’ll breed so many times in one season is they have extremely high mortality rates.

It is illegal and in my opinion very unwise to interfere in a natural predator and prey interaction. No matter how many magpies you kill those robins are statistically more likely than not to die from some predator within their first year of life. If the robins are continuously making nests in a place that magpies can access that is their own fault. It is unfair to kill a fairly uncommon predator for the most numerous and generic songbirds in this hemisphere just because you like them. Robins have been doing just fine without human intervention and will continue to do so.

 

[Qwerty3159]

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Robin/overview#

 

[BlueO]

Where is the robin making its nest? Most make their nest in trees/bushes. If that's where it is, there's not much you can do, unfortunately as it's illegal to take or move their nests or eggs.

The nest is in some scrub oak and so far it’s doing good. I think they scared the magpie off. The babies haven’t hatched yet, but I’m excited to see the little naked birds when they hatch!

 

[BlueO]

Magpies are a protected species in the US and it would be wise to not talk about attempting to kill them.

The American robin is the most numerous bird on the continent and the reason they’ll breed so many times in one season is they have extremely high mortality rates.

It is illegal and in my opinion very unwise to interfere in a natural predator and prey interaction. No matter how many magpies you kill those robins are statistically more likely than not to die from some predator within their first year of life. If the robins are continuously making nests in a place that magpies can access that is their own fault. It is unfair to kill a fairly uncommon predator for the most numerous and generic songbirds in this hemisphere just because you like them. Robins have been doing just fine without human intervention and will continue to do so.

Thank you for the reply. Magpies bothering a nest isn’t the only reason I’d be shooting one. Magpies have a habit of squawking loudly at about 4:00am every morning during the spring and summer months. Unfortunately the only way to stop this is shooting one and after that they leave us alone for the rest of the year. Same with raccoons, constantly coming to steal the ducks feed. Any animals that come to harm my foul or bother us will not be tolerated. Pests must go. Sorry if you do not feel the same.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Magpies are a protected species in the US and it would be wise to not talk about attempting to kill them.

The American robin is the most numerous bird on the continent and the reason they’ll breed so many times in one season is they have extremely high mortality rates.

It is illegal and in my opinion very unwise to interfere in a natural predator and prey interaction. No matter how many magpies you kill those robins are statistically more likely than not to die from some predator within their first year of life. If the robins are continuously making nests in a place that magpies can access that is their own fault. It is unfair to kill a fairly uncommon predator for the most numerous and generic songbirds in this hemisphere just because you like them. Robins have been doing just fine without human intervention and will continue to do so.

I would not be so quick to defend Magpies. They destroy quite a bit and farmers shoot them to prevent them from picking the eyes out of calves and other baby livestock. That being said it is illegal to kill magpies just because, but under the Code of Federal Regulations there are exceptions for killing Magpies. “a Federal permit shall not be required to control . . . magpies, when found committing or about to commit depredations upon ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock, or wildlife, or when concentrated in such numbers as to constitute a health hazard or other nuisance . . .”

 

[Qwerty3159]

I would not be so quick to defend Magpies. They destroy quite a bit and farmers shoot them to prevent them from picking the eyes out of calves and other baby livestock. That being said it is illegal to kill magpies just because, but under the Code of Federal Regulations there are exceptions for killing Magpies. “a Federal permit shall not be required to control . . . magpies, when found committing or about to commit depredations upon ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock, or wildlife, or when concentrated in such numbers as to constitute a health hazard or other nuisance . . .”

Didn’t know that they were exempted in those circumstances, thanks for the info!

I’m certainly not defending the magpie as they can be a pest, just simply stating that they don’t necessarily need to be destroyed if the extent of their impact is having natural predator-prey interactions or making noise. OP did not indicate that they were doing anything besides eating songbird eggs in the original post hence my response.

Either way, good luck solving your magpie problem @BlueO , to each their own To answer your original question though, I think the best way to discourage this other than directly controlling the magpies would be to put up better nesting spots for the robins. You can buy or build a birdhouse for robins except it’s more of an open fronted cupboard. Do you have a covered porch or sheltered eave on your home? They’re not too picky. I have some that will try to nest in rhododendrons or arborvitaes but they usually give up after one Cooper’s hawk raid and start nesting on the bend gutters under the eaves, on a ledge in the carport, etc. They’re not too picky about what you put up. If you do so in a concealed area they may go undetected. Magpies are smart and have likely learned the robins are continually nesting in a bush they can raid.

 

[BlueO]

Didn’t know that they were exempted in those circumstances, thanks for the info!

I’m certainly not defending the magpie as they can be a pest, just simply stating that they don’t necessarily need to be destroyed if the extent of their impact is having natural predator-prey interactions or making noise. OP did not indicate that they were doing anything besides eating songbird eggs in the original post hence my response.

Either way, good luck solving your magpie problem @BlueO , to each their own To answer your original question though, I think the best way to discourage this other than directly controlling the magpies would be to put up better nesting spots for the robins. You can buy or build a birdhouse for robins except it’s more of an open fronted cupboard. Do you have a covered porch or sheltered eave on your home? They’re not too picky. I have some that will try to nest in rhododendrons or arborvitaes but they usually give up after one Cooper’s hawk raid and start nesting on the bend gutters under the eaves, on a ledge in the carport, etc. They’re not too picky about what you put up. If you do so in a concealed area they may go undetected. Magpies are smart and have likely learned the robins are continually nesting in a bush they can raid.

Thank you! I have been trying to build bird houses but right now we’re trying to build a coop for our new chicks so we have to finish that first. But I will be building bird houses soon.

 

[BlueO]

Little babies just hatched! So far three out of four eggs. I couldn’t get very good pictures because I can’t reach very well but here they are!