Think I've disturbed a nest accidentally.

[minisoksmakehardwork]

Yesterday I was pushing the wildly overgrown clematis back up the fence (didn't put support in place after cutting in back last year) and dislodged what appears to be a robins nest tucked between the clematis and Ivy (also overgrown again but won't be cut back just yet).

I've carefully nudged it back as it was quite precarious but I am worried it may have been an in-use nest and that any eggs which might be in it will now be abandoned.

I've googled and know it's likely to be a robin nest - we do have a pair which visit our garden regularly - and have sat watching the nest for ages but nothing has come back. RSPB recommended watching for an hour, which I have done a couple of times through the day but if there a better time to watch and see if anything comes and goes?

The children are fascinated at the thought if having baby birds in the garden so I've banned them from that area to avoid further disturbance and we have googled robins and nesting so know they lay 4-6 eggs, one each day and generally early morning. Does anyone have an idea for how early or is it going to be a case of getting up at dawn and watching and waiting then. We tried training a camera on the nest but the one I have shut down after a while so we've got nothing.

Did you see any eggs in the nest?

There's nothing you can do other than what you have. I would leave well alone. If the nest is OK, then in due course eggs will hatch, and from then on there will be quite a lot of activity, and that's the time to keep an eye on it. Meanwhile, the less disturbance the better, including avoiding watching or fiddling with cameras.

I think so @ThomasHardyPerennial. I didn't want to poke about in it obviously but I did see what looked like a whole egg rather than just broken shell - especially as robins are supposed to eat the shells after hatching.

Camera was from the conservatory so wouldn't have disturbed birds. I'm more hoping it's an old nest which had previously been disturbed hence falling out as research seems to indicate in use nests are firmly tucked in and wouldn't become dislodged so easily. But I shall be sure to watch and update if there are any changes.

IT is still quite early, so if the worst has happened there is still time for them to get another clutch on the go. My robins always seem to nest in daft places, often quite low down. I don't think they have worked out the extra perils of urban life. And then the silly little fledglings don't fly off on day one but spend a couple of days hopping around on the ground. So irresponsible, I blame the parents. One year I grabbed the cat, locked her indoors and nipped to the corner shop for cat litter so I could keep her in, by the time I got back there was a fox already in the garden, never saw that fledgling again.

Statistically I suppose a pair only have to produce in their lifetime two fledglings reaching adulthood to keep up numbers, but I think robins are not very good at maths! Unlike my sparrows and goldfinches who seem to be on a roll.