I would not be surprised. Yesterday I witnessed something very similar-only the reverse. I have a mama robin in a nest near my front window. I was in the garden and I heard her peeping wildly. When I came around the corner, there were 5 blackbirds harassing her---getting close to her nest and posing a threat. I tried to shoo them away, but they ignored me and were too high up. Then I noticed about 4 other robins and a couple of wrens flying in and they chased the blackbirds off to a tree across the street. Mama robin settled back into her nest with her two babies. The other birds sat in her tree for a little while and then flew off. I was really impressed. Mother Nature is really heartwarming at times...so yes, your little robin could indeed be helping out a friend. :)

Could you put the mealies into an enclosed feeder so that Robins can't take all the food? I have one with 1 1/2 inch wire that keeps the larger birds out. I do sometimes get a Red-bellied woodpecker that tries to get in. While he's there the other birds don't go near it. But he gives up eventually and then the Blues can feast on the mealworms.

1) Will upsetting the robins occasionally (hanging up laundry 2-3x/day) cause them to abandon the nest? Yes. And if the eggs hatch, you can scare the nestlings out of the nest prematurely. 2) Are there certain times of day that they tend to not be in the nest so I can work around those times? No. 3) Do we need to just avoid the deck area until they hatch and leave the nest? If so, how long is that? The eggs hatch after about 15 days and then the young leave the nest 18-20 days later. We usually hang up all our laundry outside so this is a pain but we do not want to upset the birds. Our 4 children will love to see the eggs hatch. : ) It will be worth the sacrifice. Keep a distance, listen to the chicks' begging cries and watch the parents go to and from feeding them.

A couple things I do to help the birds during their nesting time is give them places to build their nest. Doves only put down a couple sticks before laying their eggs so I give them platforms that are sort of saucer shaped — to keep the eggs in the nest. I just take 1/4 in square screen, cut a 8x8 inch piece and bend the ends over canes so it doesn’t fall. Also works great on metal arches. I also place them up under the over hang of the roof on our buildings. That way they are out of the rain. Make sure they have more than one easy escape opening. Robins like the roses but they do need a bunch of the canes close to each other so they can place their nest in the ‘hole’. You may want to tie some canes together if your bushes don’t have any. Also if you have a cane sticking straight up with off shoots that form a cone just cut the center cane out leaving just the cone. They can build their nest in it without it falling out. Wrens will fill your bird houses with small sticks so other birds can't use them if the houses are close to each other.