Empty Nest

Yesterday the baby birds were looking pretty big, and their eyes were open. I thought: "I'll snap a picture of them tomorrow."  Too late! Peeked out the window tonight, and the babies are no longer there.  Sniff sniff!

Man, that was fast!

Feed Me!

The chicks are really growing fast...but so is the rosebush and I can no longer see them from my study window.  So I have to wait for the mother to fly away and hunt so I can get in close and snap some pics. Both chicks seem to be doing just fine, but I may have been wrong about their eyes being open.

The mother is always very cautious in approaching the nest; she clearly wants to avoid us seeing her fly into it. So while we're sitting outside, I try not to look at her when she starts hopping towards the nest.

As always, you can click this picture to see it bigger.

And then there were two...

Looks like the babies have their eyes open.  Also they can lift their heads up and open their mouths.  Still very weak.  Sad to report that there are only two babies now!  We just noticed this evening. Not sure what happened to the third.  Maybe it was stillborn?  In any case the mother probably carried it off.  She's been very careful that way; she didn't even leave the egg shells beneath the nest because they'd give away the nest location.  At least the two babies left look healthy.

They've hatched!

We have three new additions to the household! They're not exactly the cutest things in the world, are they? They can't be more than a day or two old! Hard to believe the information I found on the website that says that it only takes a few weeks for these helpless little blobs to be strong enough to jump from this nest to the ground six feet below and walk around on their own.  They're pretty still now but, from what I read, they become active and noisy when their mother comes by. This is going to be such an interesting few weeks!

The 411 on Robin Chicks

Got a pic of the mama bird in the nest!  But where are the chicks? We have a bird house hanging in one of the trees, and some wrens had chicks there. I think the chicks are gone, so why are the robins are taking so long?  Here's what I was able to gather from a search on the web:

• Robin eggs hatch 12-14 days after the last egg is laid. Since we just had a third egg drop, we're looking at about 10-12 days for chicks.
• Chicks jump from the nest about 13 days after they hatch! Wow! So before the end of July, the nest should be empty. This is going to move fast! The mother bird apparently keeps feeding the chicks while they are on the ground.
• Another 10-15 days pass before chicks can fly. That struck me as very odd. Why would they leave the nest before they can fly? Seems like they'd be easy prey.
• Robins can lay more than one clutch of eggs per season, so we may have more babies before the summer is out.

Wish I knew exactly how many days since the first two eggs were laid. I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on things. Though I still avoid peeking out the window too much. One of the sites said a mother bird may abandon a nest if she thinks a predator has found it (and I'm sure seeing my big head sticking out a window from above might not be a welcome sight). She can also abandon a nest if it is moved in some way.  On the other hand, the idea that birds abandon young that are touched by humans is a myth. Apparently birds have a poor sense of smell.

Three eggs now

How can there be a third egg suddenly when there have only been two for so long? How does that happen?

Anyway, I'm hoping I can webcam the hatching and post here.  I would love to go up to the nest and get a pic of the mother bird sitting there, but I just know that's an awful idea. She might get spooked and abandon the nest. The other thing I worry about is what if one of the babies falls out of the nest? There's no way I could let 'nature take its course'. Have to find something I could use to pick up the baby without leaving a human scent on it. Hopefully, it won't come to that!

I also wonder why robin eggs are blue? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to be brown or grey so they blend into the nest more? Blue eggs seem like they'd be easier for predators to spot.

Nest Watch Update

Nothing new with the robin and her eggs yet.  I guess I thought all this stuff happened in the spring?  Or maybe that's just the mating.  Oh well, still looking forward to the sound of little birds chirping!

In for a treat!

Outside my study window, a robin has built a nest in a big rose bush supported by a trellis and a wooden arch in the garden.  Pretty good location in that it's sheltered by the house and hidden by the rose bush. Though I was surprised our proximity when we sit outside on the patio was okay with the bird.

When I looked outside the other day, I saw that we'll have quite a miracle of life going on over the next few months. (Click the pic to enlarge). I try not to look out the window too much as I do not want to spook the mother bird, but I can't wait to hear the sound of little chicks squeaking!