Visitors

We had a family of robins build a nest under our deck this year. Amy would come down and document the progress of the nest every few days. Instead of being redundant, I will let you follow her link to see my little bird family because her pictures are better than mine.

Click here: Poppies and Papercuts: Eggs and Uglies

Some facts about robins:

Nesting: It takes from two to six days to make the nest, with an average of 180 trips per day to find materials. Males sometimes help gather nesting materials but the female chooses the site and builds the nest.

Brooding: The female robin incubates her eggs for about 12 to 16 days. She sits on the eggs for 40-minute periods. Then she stands up, turns the eggs and flies off to feed or for a break. The male stands guard and sometimes sits on the eggs.


Q. When do young robins learn to fly?
A. Baby robins jump from their nest when they are about 13 days old. It takes them another 10-15 days to become strong fliers and independent birds.

One day my daughter-in-law Kee pulled me outside to see one of the darlings on the deck rail. I couldn't believe they went from the little flesh colored, transparent uglies to these little gems in such a short time.

Two of the four flew to the Aspen trees and just sat for hours

Notice their speckled little bellies

One just sat on the edge of the nest for a long time, too afraid to go

One jumped around the deck rail for a while

The last one made the garden his home for several days. He just wasn't strong enough to fly up into the bushes or onto the fence.

It was fun watching the parents work so tirelessly to feed them every day and to see how protective they were if anyone came close. We were all dive bombed more than once. My dog is still half afraid to go potty 3 weeks later. It is also a little sad to know they are gone and my bird watching is through for the year. Maybe another family we decide to move in next year, although I hope it will be in a tree and not right under the deck where we walk. Bye, bye birdies.