This year a robin took over the tenancy. First, I was interested to note robins spend a lot of time and effort building the nest which is sturdy and deep. (Mourning doves just slap a few sticks together - and as a result, a chick tumbled out last year and was pecked to death by thrashers. Boy, was that grim.) Here's the robin at nest completion already sitting on a clutch of eggs. At this point, we have no idea how many eggs or how long it will take them to hatch.
After a really short time period, we noticed she was flying back and forth, but we couldn't see any beaks. Obviously, she was feeding. I learned new born robins are tiny, tiny, and featherless, with closed eyes, and skin so thin you can actually see the internal organs. I didn't want to spook the mother by getting my step ladder out and peering into the nest, so I took the book's word for all this. After about three days or so, here's what popped up: There are two little wide open beaks - one is behind the leaf.
Within one more day, we could see a propped up head, no feathers, eyes still closed. Just like human babies, it takes robinettes a bit of time to learn to hold up their heads. The white 'fuzz' is down forming - the start of the feathers.
Their beaks were almost transparent at this point.
And, then, one day there were three beaks!
Two chicks now have open eyes, but the third one's eyes (in the back) are still closed, and you can see the little feathers starting to form on the two oldest.
Mom (and Dad) are now doing tag team feeding, and it's almost non-stop. One lands feeds, leaves, and the other is right behind with more food. It's just like planes doing touch and go's on aircraft carriers. This goes on from dawn until dark.
Then, one morning we open the curtain, and the chicks all have feathers. It seemed to happen overnight. Between the two heads is the third beak - the much smaller chick.
The parents are still feeding like mad, and we are into about the tenth day since beaks were visible above the deep nest.
It's now obvious, while there are three chicks, one is significantly bigger, the second is close behind, but the third is definitely smaller than the other two and is being crowded out when feeding happens.
One morning the biggest chick perched on the EDGE OF THE NEST. I'm thinking repeat of last year when the dove chick fell out of the nest and died.
This is a two week old robin sitting on the edge, flexing its wings in preparation to STEP OFF. That's how robin chicks fledge: They don't fly out, or hop to a branch. They step off the edge of the nest. Initial flight is about ten feet.
One chick is poised and ready to step off; the second followed within a few hours, but the smallest was still sitting deep into the nest. I wondered if the parents would continue to feed it.
Here's the last chick in the nest, and the parents fed non-stop for an entire day before this one fledged.
This is a previously fledged chick who tried to return to the nest. It's about one foot from the nest and can't quite figure out how to work back over and into the nest.
It finally worked its way back to the nest edge and is calling for food, but I never saw either parent feed it. They did continue to feed the one still in the nest while ignoring the one who left the nest and came back.
When didn't actually see any of the three leave the nest for the first time. I was interested in this process, but I wouldn't sit at the window for hour upon hour. This robin is one of the chicks and is a day or two out of the nest. They can fly about ten feet at a time the first day. This one sat here for about an hour pretending to be invisible. I crept up outside to take a picture, and this one (same bird) who can obviously see me didn't budge.
And here's the final fledgling. The robin dad hangs around for a couple of days, but mom is already building another nest. I was intrigued the very excellent old nest was not re-used. I guess we will have to clean it out next winter to get a new nest built in our peek-a-boo spot.
As always, there are more pictures. I did whittle down over 300 pictures to 85 - probably about 50 too many. Couldn't help myself. This was a fascinating three weeks.
As you can tell from the pictures, I had a very good time watching and filming the new birds. How appropriate with Mother's Day arriving within the week.
Oh, and Happy Mother's Day to our daughter on her first Mother's Day. Our family's baby boy grandson is coming out of the nest around Halloween. Here he is at about twelve weeks. We can hardly wait!
