Are robins bad for my garden? I have been keeping a close eye on my garden due to bad insects and tonight I noticed a rabbit creeping around and some robins eating the bugs and worms from my soil. I have a pretty rich soil (1-1-1, cow manure, potting soil, peat & humus mix.)

Are they eating helpful bugs away? I think my fence is keeping the rabbit out (I'll be watching that waskally wabbit) but what about the birds?

As long as you don't see any real damage to your plants, don't worry about it. Let nature have its way!

Organic or sustainable pest control is about feeding beneficial creatures, and soil biology, in order to do everything you need in your garden. Killing or running off anything is always the last resort, the first resort.

I have scads of robins around my place. They eat a heck of a lot of my worms (which are certainly beneficial), but they eat a heck of a lot of cutworms too.
I'd say it's a draw.
On the plus side, I enjoy very much having them around and watching them hunt.

The robins really shouldn't be a problem for you, especially with your rich soil. The worms can keep up.

Robins eat bugs, so if you see them pecking at a plant, they are grabbing bugs off of it, just what you want!!

I checked my field guide, which says they mostly like earthworms which are a beneficial critter. The guide refers to 'ocdcasional' eating of bugs on plants, so they're not liable to get too many of the other beneficials.

BTW--early this spring right after the garden was tilled, I caught one robin with a mouse sized ball of mud in front of him. When he spotted me he took off with it clasped in his toes--I knew they used mud in their nests but hadn't realised they could lift a ball that size..

I have LOTS of birds in my yard, garden... and I only have "problem" birds, when it comes to ripening fruit on the trees. And quail that mow everything down when they come in large numbers....

But, I do nothing to deter them....

I like the birds, provide them all sorts of flowers. They LOVE bachelor buttons. some birds eat the bugs off those flowers, others love to eat the flower heads... I don't mind as those plants keep blooming and blooming...

If your robins eat some worms... no biggy. Even if you have a dozen robins, if you have enough worms that they are easily eating them, then your worm population is large...

I'd make an effort to keep rabbits out more than birds. Other than our raspberries I don't birds. I had been covering the raspberries with plastic netting as the fruit plumped but last year a bird got caught & died before we could free it. Will probably leave them go this year.

And I love wathing robins hunt worms, their so good at it. They listen, than tilt their head and look down. I swear I watched one evening after a rain and the one bird had a 100% record. Every time it poked it's beak into the ground it came up with a worm. As a fisherman that used to pick his own worms for bait I have much respect for them.