Determined bird chooses to live with cats

Birds are busy building nests these days and sometimes their choice of location is questionable. But this robin has baffled a lot of people, and cats, with her choice for a spring nest.

Johanna White of Steinbach says this is the first time that a bird decided to build a nest right on her catio, where her cats spend most of their waking hours. 

“The cats have chased her away, but she keeps coming back.” 

It’s somewhat intriguing, White says, trying to understand why the robin was so determined to build a nest so close to a couple of cats. 

Johanna White says her cats were initially successful at scaring the robin away from their catio, but the bird did not stay away for long. After a while, it appeared she got used to the cats who frequently hang out in the catio during the day. (Photo Credit: Johanna White)

The catio roof is only wire, it's not covered with any wood, and there are some decorative solar lights. Perhaps this soon-to-be mama is keen on having night lights. 

White says her cats, named Karma and Sparta, can get close to the robin and her nest, but they can’t reach it. 

Now that the nest construction is complete, the robin seems quite content to stay in her nest while the cats watch her. 

Karma watches the robin who sits motionless in her nest on the catio roof. (Photo Credit: Johanna White)

White says it will certainly be an interesting spring with baby birds chirping non-stop as they wait for food. 

This bird's strange behavior has baffled her neighbours who are trying to understand why this robin was so insistent on “living with the cats.” 

According to allaboutbirds.org, robins tend to lay 3-5 eggs with a 12-to-14-day incubation period. "Female robins choose the nest sites, which are typically on one or several horizontal branches hidden in or just below a layer of dense leaves. Nests are typically in the lower half of a tree, although they can be built as high as the treetop. American Robins also nest in gutters, eaves, on outdoor light fixtures, and other structures."