Expert: Roger Lederer - 5/15/2010

Question
For the second year in a row, robins built a nest in a gutter that is 2 stories above the ground and right under a bedroom window.  Last year the eggs disappeared before hatching.  This year, four eggs hatched but there were only three babies in the nest.  About a week after they hatched, when the pretty wing feathers had come out but their eyes were still closed, they disappeared from the nest.  They were too young to fly by about a week.  Other people have reported this and were told that the parents kick them out before they can fly.  What if they're in a nest in a gutter two stories above the ground?  They'd die when they hit the ground!  Their nest is near two bird feeders.  There is a chance they got eaten but I'd like to believe they survived.  Any chance of it from up there?  Also, what do the adults do with a baby that hatched but doesn't make it and what happened to the egg shells?

Answer
Well, let me clear up a couple of things. First, parent birds DO NOT kick out their babies. Second, babies leave on their own BEFORE they can fly. This is perfectly normal. The nest simply gets too crowded so they jump out. Then the parents take care of the babies on the ground until they can fly. The nest may be two stories or 30-40 feet above the ground, doesn't matter, the babies generally survive the fall.

If the young or eggs disappeared from the nest before they were ready to leave, it was almost certainly due to a predator - rat, squirrel, jay, raccoon, opossum, cat, whatever.

If a chick hatches but dies in the nest, it generally stays there. There is no way a Robin can remove a baby. The parents either toss the egg shells out or eat them for the calcium.

Hope that clears things up. Let me know if you have further questions.