One of the nicest things about having a robin’s nest so close is that there’s always something to see when we look out our back door. Sometimes it’s the father hunting and keeping an eye on things.
You’re watching me, huh? Well, I’m watching you, too!
Often one of the parents is on the nest and four hungry babies are begging for dinner.
Four Little Beggars
And better yet, sometimes dinner is being served. The father brings back all sorts of things for his babies. Usually it’s something with wings.
Soup’s on!
And sometimes there’s just an adorable little muppetlike head sticking out of the nest.
Muppetlike Head
But you can only tell so much from observing the outside of the nest. With an inside view, you can see just how fast the babies are are growing. They are changing on a daily basis.
Robin Babies on May 29
Robin Babies on May 30
Robin Babies on May 31
The parents have become even more vigilant. It’s as if the stakes for them get higher with every insect they feed to their babies. They’ve put so much time and energy into this nest now. I’ve read that most robin babies do not survive. I’m hoping that these gain some measure of safety by living literally beneath our roof, since most predators tend to stay away from the house. If this nest is successful, then during the summer the parents might reuse the nest or build another nearby. And wouldn’t that be fun?
Yay! It’s cool to get to see the above-the-nest shots, since that’s not a perspective you often see.
You can thank Michael for those shots. He is tall enough that he could stand with the camera over the nest. I’m so glad he was able to do that, because we can see how big the birds are getting and how their feathers are developing.