May 18, 2008 - All four eggs have hatched!

Unlike Mama, all of Lucy's eggs hatched successfully. The newest baby is the one on the top, right.

Happy Birthday!

Robbie and Roxy are near impossible to photograph. They blend in so well with the nest that my camera just can't seem to focus on them clearly. They also duck down very low when they sense that I am near, which makes it even harder. Their eyes are fully open now, they have looked at me a few times. They have tons of feathers now! It's hard to believe that they will probably be on their own by Memorial day.

The best picture I have gotten in days:

11 days old

May 17, 2008 - Lucy feeding the babies

May 16, 2008 - Now a Mom of three

Another new addition to Lucy's family!

Happy Birthday!

Lucy's a busy Mom feeding three babies. I did see Ricky this morning trying to help but Lucy still does the bulk of the work. I've been able to see her feed them quite a few times now but it hasn't been light enough for pictures. I still haven't figured out how they decide who gets fed first. It seems like both mothers definitely have their favorites.

I haven't been able to take any decent pictures of Robbie or Roxy the past few days. They have lots of feathers now and the colors of the feathers blend in perfectly with the nest. This camouflage is good because they spend 75% of their time alone in the nest now. Mama did spend more time with her kids today because it was rainy and she had to cover them up. Besides today, she has pretty much been MIA. She spends the bulk of her time across the street in our neighbor's yard. She does come back to feed her babe's but basically, she is gone. I'm guessing she is already working on her new nest. Robin's don't typically reuse nests which is a real bummer for me. I would love to see them through the summer but I doubt that will happen. However, I will leave their nests there in case they change their minds!

I do worry about little Roxy. I check every morning to make sure she is still o.k. She is quite a bit smaller than her brother and the parents absolutely favor Robbie over Roxy; he gets the food the majority of the time. Today I didn't see her lift her head for food, which is a first. But I was also gone most of the day so hopefully she is just full.

I noticed a new job that Big Daddy is responsible for: cleaning out the nest. I would see him pecking around the bottom of the nest sometimes. At times he would actually peck his kids! I had no idea what he was doing until I saw him eating whatever was at the bottom of the nest. Then I read that baby Robin's poo immediately after they eat; so I put two and two together. Not a job I would want! :)

May 15, 2008 - Lucy's a Mom!!!!

TWO babies were born this morning. Again, I missed the hatching which is a bummer, I hope to catch at least one being born. Lucy is much less wary of me so she fed her babies while I was watching! Didn't get a clear picture of it but it was cool to see. These two are really cute! They are constantly moving around and lifting their mouths up for food. They both seem about the same size but one is much stronger than the other. Many times the stronger bird will sit on the other ones head! The poor thing struggles to get out for what seems like forever. Eventually, he/she finds it's way up to get some air!

Happy Birthday!!

Lucy feeding her new babies.

The closest thing I may get to see in the hatching process is this hole in one of the eggs. It looks like that baby is trying to stick her wing in the egg!

AWWWWWWWW!!

May 14, 2008 - From Hatchling to Nestling

Apparently, the babies are big enough that they no longer need incubating during the day. Which means they aren't considered Hatchlings anymore! Mama spends most of her time looking for food to feed her babies and herself, she hasn't needed to sit on the babies all day. I do know that the mothers will continue to incubate during the nighttime though. Since Mama is spending most of the day away from the nest, Big Daddy has had to step it up; he guards the nest and feeds the babies all day long. Today I tried to take pictures of the nest from the outside. It was wonderful to see the babies so close-up. Daddy was near-by just watching. But within a minute or two, Mama came screeching from a few yards over. It sounded more like she was yelling at him to watch the kids better than at me!

The babies are able to open their eyes now! I saw one trying to look at me but it wasn't able to open it's eyes all the way. They are so ugly that they are cute! They are always huddled up next to each other trying to keep warm. They are probably about double the size they were on the day they were born.

Keeping each other warm.

Robbie (left) - Roxy (right)

Big Daddy guarding the nest.

The Blue Jay's are becoming more and more of a problem for this Robin family. They fly all over Daddy's territory and you can tell they are looking for trouble. I don't know if Big Daddy could take the Jay's but I know Mama could. Now that she isn't tied to the nest like she was, I am always seeing her in other Robin's territories looking for food and getting into scuffles.

Looking for trouble.

video problems

I've had some issues with posting videos but I worked it out. Be sure to check out the video of the babies on the first day they hatched. Too cute!!
CLICK HERE

May 13, 2008 - The dangerous life of a Robin

Robbie and Roxy (the babies have names!) are getting BIG and STRONG; noticeably so even from yesterday! When they reach their mouths up for food they are now taller than the sides of the nest. They are also much, much stronger and move around more, they are starting to make noise now too. I even saw Robbie (the bigger one) flapping his featherless wings around. They have lost those big, blue, bulgy eyes and look much more bird-like now. It is obvious that Roxy is the smaller, weaker one. Because of that, she often goes without getting food. Robbie can lift his head higher and for a longer period of time and the parents stuff food in the first mouth they see.

VIDEO: Big Daddy feeding Roxy

NOTE: The sounds in the background are not the birds, it's the sound of Jonnie playing with his cars. :)

How cute is this little face?!

Big Daddy has been around and contributing MUCH more than he has in the past. He feeds them very frequently now and stands guard over the nest rather than from a nearby tree. Mama has to go farther out of her territory to get food. This makes life a lot harder for the both of them. Daddy has to keep a close eye on the nest and Mama has to fight off other defensive Mama's. She also looks for food in a yard that belongs to this:



A Robin family also lives in the yard with the cat and the Robin chased Mama off and she nearly got hit by a car! The Blue Jay's are getting much more aggressive which is freaking the new parents out. Mama got caught in a sticky situation with two Blue Jay's and had to stand completely still on a branch so they wouldn't notice her. She is much more wary of entering the nest. She knows that predators will follow her. Big Daddy on the other hand seems a bit oblivious to this. Yet, when he sees my face or camera nearby he flies away. The bigger the babies get, the more fiercely the parents defend them. Today, I saw Big Mama dive bomb a Squirrel; she got him right on the head which was pretty funny.

One scared Mama!

This is when the Blue Jay's were being aggressive

May 12, 2008 - What a difference a day makes!

It's COLD and WINDY out today; so different from the sunny warm day we had yesterday. Lucy is not having fun today. She hasn't been able to take off and find food like she is used to. I haven't seen her leave the nest at all today. She is all puffed up trying to keep her eggs and herself warm. I even caught her sleeping this morning:



I caught a quick glimpse of the babies today. Mama was screeching for Big Daddy so I made it really quick; I wasn't able to confirm that there is a third baby. The babies look SO different now! I am thinking that the black coloring is either bone or cartilage under the skin. It looks like the line on their eyelids has opened a bit more, I bet they will open their eyes soon! I could also see the beginnings of their wing feathers. Their down looks longer and fluffier but they are still quite naked.

4 DAYS OLD

ETA: Just saw the third egg in the nest. I have a feeling it's just not going to hatch. It just keeps moving around the nest. At this point, it would probably be best if it didn't hatch.

May 11, 2008 - Happy Mother's Day!

I think the third egg hatched today. Big Mama has been super protective and I haven't been able to get a good look inside of the nest to be sure. The two bigger birds - keep sending in name suggestions! :) - are much stronger now! They have a light covering of white feathers all over their bodies. They can also hold their heads up for minutes at a time. It also seems like they are not wasting their energy on lifting their heads until they know that Mama is nearby. They rest until she is a foot or two away from the holly tree; then they opening wide. Still no noise from them yet.

Protective Mama not letting me peek at her kids.

When Mama senses danger, all of the feathers on her head stick up.

Yesterday was warm, so Lucy was able to spend a lot of time away from her nest. I hope she took advantage of this warm weather since tomorrow is going to be 25 degrees cooler!

This is the tree that Lucy chose to build a nest.

This is the amazing view we get from inside the house.

May 10, 2008 - A milestone already!

These hatching's are growing fast! They have a little bit more fluff, their skin is less red and they seem to be moving a bit more. Today, they graduated from regurgitated food to small worms and grubs. I'm sure Mama is relieved about that! She has been working hard at keeping the babies fed and the regurgitation did not look comfortable. I have only seen Big Daddy feed them once, so he hasn't been much help in that area. The third egg still hasn't hatched. Tomorrow is it's "due date" so hopefully it will hatch on time. If not, I'm afraid it might be too small and young to compete with it's siblings who have already moved up to solid foods.

Big Mama with a mouth full of food for her babies.

I have yet to clearly see her feed the babies, never mind photograph it. I caught her a few times in the middle of feeding but wasn't able to see through the holly leaves. Mama is very leery of me and my camera now that the babies have hatched. If she is gathering food, she just doesn't want to come back to her nest when my big head and camera are in the window watching her. I eventually have to leave so her poor kids don't go hungry.

I hope I can photograph the feeding more when Lucy's kids arrive. Although, she spends a ton of time away from her nest so I don't know how successful this clutch is going to be. Luckily the rain stopped and it warmed up a bit. Hopefully this kept her eggs warm while she was gone.

Quite a few people have told me I should name the babies. Any suggestions? Leave a comment with your ideas here.

May 9, 2008 - Rain, rain go away!

It was cold and rainy all day. It was a school day for me so I didn't get to see the Mom's much. When it rains, they open up their wings to cover the entire nest to protect their young/eggs.

Lucy

I did get to sneak a peek at the two little ones tonight. The third egg hasn't hatched yet. I was happy to see two little mouths wide open and ready to eat. With the cold and rain, I did worry that Mama might lose a baby or two. The statistics for a successful clutch is only 40%. I am hoping that I won't have to witness the harsher side of nature while watching these Robin families.

More rain and cold expected tomorrow, I hope those two babies are strong enough to take it.

May 8, 2008 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Big Mama got not one but TWO surprises today!!




I was watching her this afternoon and I noticed that she was digging around in her nest a lot more than usual. I had a feeling one of the eggs might be ready to hatch. The Starling's came back into Big Daddy's territory and Mama looked fierce! She was ready to take them on if they messed with her. She never left her nest to defend it though. This was different behavior than usual since she normally chases the intruders out herself. I checked back a few hours later to find Mama gone and two little baby Robin's opening their mouths waiting for food!

They are pretty amazing to watch. They will both stretch up their necks and open their mouths as wide as they can for a few seconds. Then they both collapse and get their strength back up. They aren't able to lift their heads again for at least 5 minutes. Right now they make absolutely no sound; not even when they open their mouths to be fed. One is smaller than the other. This is probably the one that hatched 2 days too early. You can already see their animal instincts kick in. As soon as one lifts it's head and opens wide for food, the other one does soon afterwards. Darwin's theory comes into play and they aren't even a day old!

Snuggling up to their unborn sibling.

Opening wide...

Then collapsing for a rest.

VIDEO!!!!