keeping my robin safe

[sharanne]

Hi Everyone I'm new to this site and looking for a little advise anyone could offer me.
I'm too excited about my little robins nesting in my garden,watching from the window i saw this little robin hover around one of my very small conifer trees,every day Ive enjoyed watching it work extremely hard building its nest and too helped with offerings of fur after grooming my Tibetan Terrier (Dog).
I'm concerned though,last summer a baby cockney sparrow fell from its nest and landed in my garden it was extremely vulnerable on a low level wall,so i sat and kept watch while mummy & Daddy returned to feed it (it was amazing to watch & i did manage to capture it all on video which i will try to upload for anyone who would like to see),as i sat protecting it from what i though would probably be a cat, to my horror out came a rat!
Thankfully i was there but this rat didn't give up (i don't mind telling you,i was as scared as the baby probably was). Eventually after 6 hours baby sitting the baby bird (and being the but of the jokes from my friends), it was encouraged to fly by both parents... truly amazing to see,they even let me get close enough to help and thankfully the rat didn't get its easy pickings. I'm worried because the tree the robin has built its nest in, is very close to where the rats had nested.thankfully my hubby did get rid of the rats but I'm rather paranoid of them returning,is this likely? and what can i do to stop them from coming back, i would be very grateful of any advise to help keep my robins safe.

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

The sparrow sounded like it had recently fledged and was being fed by its parents, which is totally natural and they are very vulnerable at this time, however be careful not to disturb them too much when they are like this as you could actually attract more predators to them like cats or cause the parents to leave.

I would avoid feeding birds in the garden while the robins are nesting, lots of feeding birds will attract rats and cats. Also if you do notice a rat try trapping it or removing it. Its good you removed the old rats however they quickly move back into an area. Unfortunately with all the will in the world nesting birds/eggs/chicks are vulnerable and nests will occasionally be predated its all part of ecology.

From the other thread.

[rossy]

get in touch with the council if you see any rats, they will put down traps and poison, but if you havent seen any , your hubby did a good job, rossy.

[sharanne]

Thank You for taking the time to reply
I haven't been feeding the other birds as much limiting the garden to just 2 feeders as im sure the robin has nested because of the food source ive only ever seen him/her at the seed so don't want to take that away.
I haven't seen any signs of any rats...SO FAR SO GOOD! fingers crossed they don't choose me again this year.
Its my fist nest and i cant wait to see what comes out.
Though i must say im looking forward to the return of the starlings which ive had returning for the last 5 years,up to 20+ in my tiny little garden at one time,they are so comical to watch but im not sure how my little robin will feel about that??? I hope he/she stays for winter,is that likely?

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by sharanne

I haven't seen any signs of any rats...SO FAR SO GOOD! fingers crossed they don't choose me again this year.
Its my fist nest and i cant wait to see what comes out.
Though i must say im looking forward to the return of the starlings which ive had returning for the last 5 years,up to 20+ in my tiny little garden at one time,they are so comical to watch but im not sure how my little robin will feel about that???

I would move the feeders away from the robin nest, loads of birds feeding close to the nest is often a cause of concern to breeding birds, also feeders and feeding birds will attract predators. Robins feed chicks on invertebrates and mainly feed on them themselves through the warmer months.

Originally Posted by sharanne

I hope he/she stays for winter,is that likely?

Possibly, robins often hold territory all year round although movement in birds can be complex and birds may well move to more suitable areas.

[sharanne]

Ok Thank You for your advise,the feeders are on my shed & not on the tree the nest is in,though the shed is close to the tree would you say this is still a concern for the Robins,i have now seen both male & female and they are in & out of the nest all day very few birds are coming into the garden,the odd black bird but i have noticed the blue tits & cockney sparrows & my big fat pigeon now only sit in the huge tree of my neighbours garden where as they did feed from mine ,could this be due to the Robbins?
Also what about the starlings i have only seen them once this year but every year they come in to my garden 15-25 at a time will the Robbins keep them away,sorry im not very clued up on my birds although i do appreciate and enjoy watching them in the garden.