Expert: Julia Booth - 7/7/2008

Question
What is the typical range for robins to be on their nests?  I have a robin's nest on a fence post, she seems to be guarding it rather fiercely.  We found a few eggs in our yard about a week ago.  Is it possible she still has eggs in there? Or is it possible she's sitting a bad egg? I don't want to bother the nest, but it's in a bad place & would like to move it when she's done.

Answer
If the weather is good, Robins will lay their eggs from April to August and have 2-3 clutches, one after the other. The father continues to feed the babies from the previous clutch while the mother incubates the new ones. Incubation is 12-14 days and it's an additional 14-16 days for the babies to fledge (be ready to leave the nest)

When you say that it's in a bad place, do you mean for you or for her? If you can handle the inconvenience, it shouldn't be more than a total of 30 days. Then you can dispose of the nest. I doubt she will have another clutch after this one, so late in the summer.