WATCHING MOTHER ROBIN

I love to sit on my front porch and watch the birds.  We planted this River Birch to give us shade and a place for the birds.  This year Mother Robin decided to make her nest in the crotch of this tree. Her nest is about  9 feet off the ground.  She started this on March 22.

Each day she brought twigs and mud and moss and strings and grasses to build her nest.  She would sit down inside it and wiggle and smooth the inside surface.

By Day Five she had it completed.  Now it is so deep that I cannot see down inside it from my lower front porch.  I wanted to get pictures each day as she laid her eggs, so now I go to the upstairs front porch and use a zoom lens on my camera.

Here is the view from upstairs on Day 5.

On Day 6 we found our first egg. 

I could hardly wait to see what I would find on Day 7 and then on Day 8.

Sure enough on Day 7 another egg and on Day 8 yet another egg.

This is Day 9 and it is raining.  It is just a slow, steady drizzle with no thunder and no lightning.  I am on the upstairs porch with my camera and the golf umbrella.

Look who is sitting on the nest with her wings spread to keep everything covered.

Do you see the raindrops?  Maybe the rain will stop and I will be able to see what is under her.  I will keep checking during the day.

Well, she has not disappointed me.  She has laid egg #4.  According to my research she could lay up to 7 eggs, always only one per day.  However, in this part of the country a clutch is usually only 4 or 5.  We will see what she does tomorrow and see if that will be the last egg.

This is Day 10 and Mother Robin has sat on the nest most of the day.  It has been a rainy day, but when she did fly out this afternoon I could see that she had not laid anymore eggs.  Now we will wait for the next two weeks until the babies begin to peck out of the shell.  I will update as they begin to hatch and certainly into fledgling.

Hope you have enjoyed this.  I have really loved watching the nest each day.

-sandi