Overview
- A pair of European robins nested inside Getränke Possemeyer in Bottrop three times this season and produced a total of 13 chicks, with the third brood now fledging among the beverage crates.
- The owners say the birds likely entered through an open roll-up door in spring and moved their nests between beer, lemonade and water crates as they raised successive broods.
- Store staff set aside marked crates labeled 'Zur Zeit kein Verkauf möglich', posted signs reading 'Hier wohnt Familie Rotkehlchen', and placed small dishes of mealworms to feed the parents and chicks.
- Customers have embraced the birds as a local attraction, which has prompted extra caution in daily operations as staff handle heavy crates and trolleys around the nesting areas.
- The owner attributes the repeated nesting to the shop’s shelter from weather and predators, and she hopes the robins will return to breed at the market next year.