How to Attract American Robins
Intro: This brown-black wild bird with its orange breast is a staple in American gardens. They’re mostly found near wooded areas, so it’s easier to attract them if your balcony garden faces some trees. The American Robin is appreciated in the container garden because they help keep down pest populations. They may be harder to attract to container plant gardens because worms aren’t as plentiful in containers as they are on the ground.
Scientific Name: Turdus migratorius
Habitat: North America. It lives year-round in most of the continental United States, and it lives in Canada in the summer and Mexico in the winter.
How to Attract: If you have some trees and shrubs where they can nest, robins may come to your garden. These wild birds eat insects, worms and grubs, and berries, such as bayberry, elderberry, grape, crabapples or holly berries. If you don’t have berry bushes nearby or many insects that attract these wild birds, create a platform feeder with some raisins, apple halfs, grapes or courants. They are also attracted to water, so provide them with a birdbath. They’ll splash a lot of water out, so be prepared to top off the birdbath’s water.
Misc. Info: American robins breed from April to July in trees or shrubs, and some will even make their nests on windowsills, lights or downspouts. There are even nesting shelves that you can purchase to attract them. These wild birds lay small blue eggs two or three times each breeding season. Do not use pesticides to kill pest insects in your balcony garden, as the American robins will end up consuming them.
