Nest Finding Rottie!

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

I had Chain Dog out for her usual, on lead excersise today and she wandered where she pretty much usually does, me in tow. Then she poked her head into the corner of the Cottoneaster hedge with a mind to looking for the donkey beyond it - then recoiled in trepidation!

 

Like, WTF can scare a Rottie?! I thought maybe I should be scared too. But then logic and reasoning soon told me the worst that could be holding up inside that dense hedge could be a pine marten or feral cat. I didn't particularly fancy thrusting my hand into either, but a man has to stand up for his Dogs ..... I prodded the hedge and we Both stood back; A tad nervous.

 

Nothing happened. Chain Dog was standing in ready to bolt position and I gave the hedge a gentle slap. Nothing. I got braver. I peered into the shadows.

 

There! I could just about make it out in there. It was a small nest! Ok. Forget that. Drag Chain Dog away and get on with what we were doing. Then sort the other Dogs out, giving this nest time to settle and forget about our intrusion. Some hours later I returned, alone, for a sly peek. Bloody robins! And there's five, well developed young in there too! What an 'unusual' place to find them, when one consideres this is basicly a 'farm yard' type setting and there's any number of more text book sites a robin might have chosen around here. But then, I have no end of robins, so maybe they're pressing eachother for the better territories?

 

Anyway, one more for the BTO Nest Records Scheme I'd never have found it, had it not been for Chain Dogs strange, indeed Any reaction. Can't figure out how she's never mentioned it before? But there we are.

 

And here we are;

 

 

The Site

 

 

 

The Nest

 

 

Nice work, Chain Dog!

[Tis TM 8]

Aw, cracking little tale, lovely to find x

[Geoff.C 0]

Nice story Ditch and great nest picture. We have robins about all the time, but have never spotted a nest. About 15 years ago, i hung an old brown teapot in the hedge, spout down for drainage. Having seen pics of robins nested in such things, and having dropped the teapot lid, I thought it could be useful outside! We have about 40 yards of mixed hedging round the bottom of the garden, and though I have at odd times moved the teapot to a different spot, there has never been anything other than spiders in it. We don't look at it enough to disturb any nesting attempts, indeed it's only writing this that has reminded me that I'm not sure where it is right now. Must have a look tomorrow.Might get lucky one day!!

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Geoff; I'm actually given to believe mate that this thing about robins using old kettles and such is a bit of a red herring. It's on a par with how forty Pakistanni's or Poles might be found scruntched together in some rat infested hole. They don't like it. They don't want to do it. They just have no choice. Bit like a time I was up in London. Because I hadn't considered my manner of dress I found no hotel would admit to having a bloody room for the night! Thus I gradually worked my way down the food chain till I found some squallid doss house that'd let me in.

 

Similar thing round here, with the robins. Their territories are so small, because there's so f*cking many of them, that they may have to make do with what ever they can get. One robin on my ground would choose the most perfect spot. Being as how I have a dozen of the bloody things, they're having to just make do with what ever's available in their own tiny patch.

 

I'd say my luckiest robin was the one that tucked itself into a crevice up inside the cow sheds back window. Cracking little site. The one in the Cottoneaster hedge is probably about bottom of the ladder. Equelly, the poor sod that ended up hiding its brood away in a plastic sack in my 'stock shed would likely rather have been tucked into some ivy clad wall. I suspect these are the birds forced to dive into a tea pot when there's just no other nook available.

 

Have ye considered knocking up some open fronted nest boxes for them?

[Tis TM 8]

Geoff; I'm actually given to believe mate that this thing about robins using old kettles and such is a bit of a red herring. It's on a par with how forty Pakistanni's or Poles might be found scruntched together in some rat infested hole. They don't like it. They don't want to do it. They just have no choice. Bit like a time I was up in London. Because I hadn't considered my manner of dress I found no hotel would admit to having a bloody room for the night! Thus I gradually worked my way down the food chain till I found some squallid doss house that'd let me in.

 

Similar thing round here, with the robins. Their territories are so small, because there's so f*cking many of them, that they may have to make do with what ever they can get. One robin on my ground would choose the most perfect spot. Being as how I have a dozen of the bloody things, they're having to just make do with what ever's available in their own tiny patch.

 

I'd say my luckiest robin was the one that tucked itself into a crevice up inside the cow sheds back window. Cracking little site. The one in the Cottoneaster hedge is probably about bottom of the ladder. Equelly, the poor sod that ended up hiding its brood away in a plastic sack in my 'stock shed would likely rather have been tucked into some ivy clad wall. I suspect these are the birds forced to dive into a tea pot when there's just no other nook available.

 

Have ye considered knocking up some open fronted nest boxes for them?

 

A friend of mine hammered an old paint tin to the side of thier shed in among the clematis... Robins nested there every year

[Geoff.C 0]

Ditch, I too tend to think the robin nesting in a teapot is unlikely these days. As I said, it's had no takers for 15 years now! My nest boxes are all "tit" type, perhaps i should try a open front one. I also like the paint tin idea from Tis TM, I have a very ivy covered ash where one could go.