Expert: Julia Booth - 7/15/2009

Question
We're in NW Michigan (Lake City) and w/in the last 2 days have buried 4 baby robins, 3 decapitated.  Nest in 40 yr old red pine (top branches)  Mother has been screeching (not like a robin singing but more like a squeaky wheel or seagull) from 5 am to 10 pm daily, flying frantically from treetop to treetop.  Thought @ first she was teaching them to fly and they fell from nest (but why no heads?)  Then thought she was keeping away predators.  After burying the 4th chick today (and the mom is still flying and screeching), I feel it may be a post partum depression thing?! Thx for your input.  We're an "in tune to nature" family and we are quite perplexed (and the screeching is driving us crazy!)

Answer
Wow that sucks.

I cannot tell you for sure what happened. But I can tell you what I think might have happened.

1. The babies were already weak or sickly and a raven or vulture or some other scavenger was stalking them.

2. A raptor that eats smaller birds attacked them, and because the mother was sufficiently distracting, it succeeded in killing the babies, but didn't actually get a chance to eat them.

3. Some other predatory animal got a hold of the babies. Although this seems unlikely. The most wasteful mammal is the coyote, which usually dismembers its prety, leaving behind a mess. But most others will actually take the prey with them to some other location, in order to finish it off.

Robins are VERY protective of their young and seem to suffer emotional loss when their babies are injured or killed. They will often continue feeding their young, even after they leave the nest, and stay together as a family for months after. I know it's hard. But she will eventually get over it. In the meantime, bear with the screeching.

Hope this helps,

Julia