April 28, 2008 - Bad day for one, good day for the other

Today is RAINY and very cold. I feel bad for the Mom trying to keep her eggs warm. I caught her rolling the eggs over with her beak and then settling down for another marathon incubation period. Since it was raining, she opened up her wings to cover the entire nest so the eggs wouldn't get wet. She didn't look too happy. From what I have seen so far, this warming eggs gig is no fun at all! The Mother does all the work and she will chirp to the Father when she needs a break to eat. He doesn't come sit on the eggs but he does guard it near-by.


I have done a little reading on Robin's since finding the nests. I guess the Mom will call the Dad when she wants to leave the nest. He will come and guard it for about 15 minutes to give her time to stretch her wings and eat. When she comes back he goes back to roost at the boys club. All of the men roost in the trees as a group while all of their baby-mama's are doing all the hard work! I have yet to see the father from this family but I do hear him singing to the mother every morning. Although, this serenade isn't for her benefit. He does it to let other males know that is his territory. He also does it to announce to the ladies that he is a stud and has mated with another female! His song is pretty but loud! He usually wakes us up around 5-ish and we have to close the windows. I can only imagine how loud it is going to be with three hungry babies screeching every morning!!


From what I have observed, this Mom seems to be experienced. She quickly built a simple but seemly sturdy nest. She is much larger than the other Robin, more colorful and mature looking. I sometimes confuse her for a male. I don't think this is her first nesting season.

Here's Big Mama:

The rain didn't make for a good day for Big Mama but the other Robin loved it! It helped loosen up the thatch and it was much easier for her to pull up. Plus, she was able to add more mud to the second layer. Because of this, she made a lot of progress on her nest today.