Create A Water Source

The first trick on how to attract robins to your backyard is simple. All you have to do is ensure there is someplace that contains freshwater. You have many options available to you in how to achieve this ranging from a simple tray sitting under a potted plant to an elaborate water feature such as a fountain or pond that recirculates the water.

Plant Berry-Producing Trees and Shrubs

Another excellent attractant for robins is a habitat that addresses their needs. In addition to a water source, robins will seek locations that contain berries. The benefit to planting berry-producing trees and shrubs in your yard is that they will also attract other bird species.

Good choices include juniper, hackberry, and holly leaf buckthorn. Be sure to seek advice from your local nursery as to what berry-producing trees and shrubs are best for your garden zone and climate.

Understand The Diet of Robins

Typically, when you think of an American robin, you picture a plump, bright red chested bird on a freshly-watered lawn pulling a huge earthworm from the soil. It turns out that insects and invertebrates are the primary food sources for robins in spring and summer.

As temperatures cool in the fall, robins turn to berries for their diet. It is not uncommon to supplement a robin’s diet in the off-season with mealworms.

These are available from your local pet store and putting out a portion daily at a feeding station will keep the neighborhood robins happy and visit your yard often. In addition to fresh mealworms, you can add pieces of fresh fruit such as apples, grapes, strawberries, watermelon, and even a handful of raisins.

Some feeders have attachments that permit you to stab fruit onto them for easy access.

Expect Robins To Be Hesitant To Visit A Feeder…At First

Robins do not eat birdseed. This makes attracting them to a feeding station somewhat of a challenge. It just isn’t a place robins go, so they are not going to suddenly head over to your feeder just because it has fresh mealworms and apple slices in it. You have to introduce the feeder to the robins.

You can do this by placing the feeder close to the water source they frequent. Essentially, you are trying to help the robins to “discover” the feeder. Once they begin going to it regularly, you can put it back where you had it in your yard and the robins will start going to it.

This means that you could attract a robin to a robin window feeder, but it could take time for the robin to become accustomed to feeding on a platform located within such proximity to an outer wall of a home or near a window.

Learn The Nesting Habits of Robins

There have been times when robins have built nests underneath the eaves of homes. You can assist with this by building a small platform under the eaves at a sheltered location alongside your home. For construction details, search online for a do-it-yourself solution or visit the local library.

Once a robin chooses a nesting spot, it will be used for a single season. Robins do not typically return to the same nest.

However, if they had success, the robins will come back to the same general area. This means that the nesting platform you built one season could be moved to another location in and around your yard and could be used again. Another way to encourage robins to nest in your yard is to provide them with a supply of nesting materials.

This will include twigs, grass, mud, and paper. Mud is of particular importance as female robins prefer to use it as a lining in the bottom and sides of the nest. You can make mud just by filling an old pan with water and dirt. Mix them and leave the pan out where the female robins can find it.

Robins Migrate During The Winter

During the winter, robins head to warmer climates. This means they are typically relocating to places in the southern United States or along the milder Pacific Coast.

As robins gather in groups and roost in flocks, any that have been spending time in your yard during the spring, summer or fall will be gone.

They head back north before winter ends so that they can get an early start on nesting. Nesting is usually the first thing robins focus on once they get back to where they spend most of the year.

The timing makes robins one of the first bird species to lay eggs in a typical calendar year. Plus, robins nest up to three times a year from April to June. This is their breeding season.

In Conclusion

It is not difficult to learn how to attract robins to your yard. All you have to do is ensure that your yard and the surroundings contain the things that robins need. This includes water, food, and nesting material. Even if robins do not choose to spend much time in your yard, the effort you have put into attracting them will still bring other birds to your backyard.

And who doesn’t enjoy sitting and listening to the sounds of nature when it includes the songs of various birds? To find out more on how to attract robins to your back yard, visit your local library or do some additional research on the internet. You will find all kinds of resources that will help you enhance your yard with various birds and other forms of wildlife.