Bird Spotting: Catching sight of this gray bird with a brick-red
belly usually signifies the start of spring. Nesting: Robins are
great architects when it comes to their nests. Using grass and
twigs, the diligent parents create a sturdy cuplike nest lined
with softer grass for their eggs. Nests can be found in trees or
along a ledge or windowsill. The robin couple usually lay three
to five blue-green eggs two to three times a season. Bird Bite:
Robins can live to be 14 years old. However, because of the high
rate of chick mortality, the entire population turns over an
average of every six years. Backyard Tip: Good nest trees for
the American robin are sugar maples, crab apples, scarlet elders
and flowering dogwoods. In the winter months the small fruit of
the snowberry shrub provides food.