Abandoned Robin? (1 Viewer)

While returning from a trip, our family stopped in the rest area exited from highway I-5, near Albany, Oregon, USA. My preants decided to take a bit of nap. I decided to take a walk along the forest and bushes. A variety of passerine calls were heard within the woods. Suddenly, I heard a noise that seemed to be very close to where I was standing. But I couldn't see any birds anywhere. Absolutely none. Only sounds were heard. When I crouched down to look through the bushes, I saw a very young juvenile American robin, still heavily spotted, with a very light rufous breast, but well feathered.

I figured that a parent bird could be watching this juvenile, and therefore, I quickly backed off about 20-30 yards. As I watched from distance, no sign of any Adult robins. I waited for nearly half an hour. Still no sign. None, and the trees were too far from it. The young robin kept crying out for its parents, but to no avail. Also, it looked to be in a very uncomfortable place. It was surrounded by all sorts of thorny brambles. After a while, the young robin scurried back into those thorny bushes. It looked unable to fly.

My question is, aren't parents supposed to watch over these juveniles and continue feeding them, since they're still unable to fly? Also, would adult robins abandon their juveniles when they see an arriving threat? Wouldn't robins be able to fly by the time when four weeks has passed? If this robin was abandoned, I should've helped, but since this was in the middle of a highway, I didn't know what to do, since I didn't know any wildlife rehabilitators nearby. What do you guys think it was?

Tim

Anhinga Watcher said:

As I watched from distance, no sign of any Adult robins. I waited for nearly half an hour. Still no sign.

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I think Turduses feed their young several times per hour...

Anhinga Watcher said:

Also, it looked to be in a very uncomfortable place. It was surrounded by all sorts of thorny brambles. After a while, the young robin scurried back into those thorny bushes.

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The young probably found the place everything but uncomfortable, giving shelter from outside world.

Anhinga Watcher said:

My question is, aren't parents supposed to watch over these juveniles and continue feeding them, since they're still unable to fly? Also, would adult robins abandon their juveniles when they see an arriving threat?

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Turduses fight for their juveniles, make noise and some even bomb the intruder. Some species are though eager to abandon their eggs, if they notice an intruder on the nest (I don't know about T. migratorius).

Anhinga Watcher said:

Wouldn't robins be able to fly by the time when four weeks has passed?

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I think so.

Anhinga Watcher said:

If this robin was abandoned, I should've helped, but since this was in the middle of a highway, I didn't know what to do, since I didn't know any wildlife rehabilitators nearby. What do you guys think it was?

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The surroundings (a highway) just may give a clue.. Every saved wildlife is worth it (traffic kills manyfolds what we can save). But it is a tricky thing that demands devotion to continuously feed the animal. The best address would be some wildlife rescuer or rescue centre.

That said, it's parents might still be there - usually they are.

Since the young robin scurried itself back into those thick, thorny bushes, it could've possibly injured itself. If parents are still there, are they courageous enough to search for their juvenile in those bushes? If this young robin is abandoned and injured, it'll have a real hard time surviving to adulthood.

Tim

Hi Tim,

They're happy in thorny thickets - a lot safer for them there, than in the open.

If it was next to a busy road (not sure what the I-5 is like, though!), there's a risk that one or other of the parents could have been a road casualty. It could be that there's only one parent trying to deal with several chicks, which would make feeds per chick less frequent. But if the chick was well-feathered, I'd say it has a reasonable chance of survival even on its own.

If not - well, nature is nature, and somewhere there'll be a Cooper's Hawk chick needing feeding, too. If every Robin chick survived, we'd all soon be knee-deep in them (well actually, they'd starve from not enough food to go round, first).

Michael

I think I made a mistake in my post. The robin wasn't found directly by the highway, but it was by the woods and bushes in a rest area exiting from highway, so it was a well-distance off from the busy traffic.

I never knew that robins would feel safer in those thorny thickets, rather than the bushes lacking thorns. I guess they are lot tougher than I've ever imagined. Do you think the chick would be able to learn to fly by itself, if no parents are watching?

Tim

Anhinga Watcher said:

I never knew that robins would feel safer in those thorny thickets, rather than the bushes lacking thorns. I guess they are lot tougher than I've ever imagined.

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Perhaps not tougher, but much much smaller and with much much better eyes.

Anhinga Watcher said:

Do you think the chick would be able to learn to fly by itself, if no parents are watching?

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Nothing is impossible in this universe... but I would say that under the laws of jungle, much lower life expectancy.

Hi Tim,

If it could find enough food, then yes, it can learn to fly by itself. Food-finding is a lot less easy!

No mistake on your part - I'm just not very familiar with American highway rest areas (in Britain, they're often right beside the road)

Michael