Do robins fish in ponds???

[LynneNY]

This morning there is a huge flock of robins flying over, around, landing on rocks lining the pond, bathing in the waterfall, and almost landing in the water!  One tried to land on a thin long branch of a black lace elderberry bush that is growing along side the edge of the pond - he all but fell in, before catching his balance again.

So do I need to be concerned about my 11 comets in there?   They seem to be hiding under the lilly pads while all this commotion is going on today.  I don't know why the birds are here like that today - I usually just have a couple in the yard at any given time.  There are a bunch of starlings in the yard today as well.

[mondotomhead]

I think they are just "flocking" and getting ready to leave for the summer.    They just happened to be in your yard.  Robins won't hurt your fish.      I only see large numbers of grackles in the spring when they are returning from down south and in the fall when they are leaving.  SO SAD........ :'(

[miguynmkoi]

I don't think robins could harm your fish.  But how cool is that to have a flock of robins in your yard?!  Rarely see any robins here.

[Missa]

I remember reading a post recently, can't remember where & I think it was Tracy but could be wrong, about a robin flying over her pond & snagging a small fish.

I can't find the post, though darn it.


Edit ... I found it, it wasn't Tracy ... it was on Gardenweb .... granted the fish was small.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/ponds/msg0712590930092.html

[LynneNY]

Funny - I thought I had read that recently too - thanks for the link Missa!

[Esther]

I'm having difficulty with this one. I guess I wouldn't worry about the safety of my fish even if the robins could get at them.

We have lots of robins in the spring and early summer but have only once seen a robin bathing in my waterfall and never even drinking from the pond. But on the other hand, no bird has easy access to my pond edge. I have maybe 8 other water sources for the birds in my yard.

[LynneNY]

Esther - I, too, have lots of birdbaths scattered around my gardens both in the front yard and back, but I often have seen the robins bathing in the waterfall.  I never mind that they are doing that, it's just that this morning there were so many flying over and around the pond that it made me a bit nervous.

They seemed to disperse about an hour after I first posted here - it was very odd.  I will be checking tomorrow morning to see if they are back.

[Esther]

I didn't notice where you lived but suppose they are getting ready to head south. I haven't seen or heard any for a while.

[LeeAnne151]

If your fish are over two inches long they almost certainly are safe. I've only read the one post about a robin eating a fish in over ten years of online ponding and have never read about robins being fish predators in any book, magazine or on any ponding website. I think fearing them as pond predators is pretty silly. Not trying to be insulting but that had to be a freak situation. I've never seen robins near any of my ponds but they do hunt worms on my lawn almost daily. They are very very common here. They'll eat crabapples too in the fall.

[Julles]

Lynne, when that robin fell into the pond, was he able to get out?  Was he in deep water, or was he in a shallow area where he could stand up?

Just curious, because there was a recent thread about someone finding a dead bird in the pond, and then we got into a discussion of whether or not a bird that fell in could get back out, or if it was doomed to drown.

[LynneNY]

Julles - I did not have a robin fall into the pond - it looked like he was going to but he caught his balance.

We often see them taking a bath in the waterfall - from spring til my husband turns it off for winter - I enjoy seeing that a great deal.  Watching Mother Nature at her finest is a great thrill.  I just didn't want to lose any fish to the birds that were going crazy that day.  The flock has not been back since then - just a couple of birds here and there most of the day.