May 30, 2008 - Fledglings out on their own!

I saw Ricky in our neighbors yard; he was on the ground chirping and looking up into a tree. Sure enough, I looked up and saw two fledglings hopping around on a branch in the tree. One of them got spooked and hopped up to the top of the tree, branch by branch. The other stayed completely still right where it was.



It was so cool to see the babies out and about. It was good to know they made it through their first night away from the nest. I was hoping to catch one fly but they were too afraid. From what I can tell, they just sit on a branch all day and the parents feed them. From time to time, I will see Ricky try to coax them out of a tree, they only have two weeks to learn how to fly, forage, find water and protect themselves.

Calling Ricky for more food

I thought that feeding nestlings was hard. The parents are now working double-time trying to feed the babies. Two of them seem to be sticking together so Ricky is feeding both of them. Lucy and the littlest fledgling are no where to be seen. Hopefully they are together somewhere.

VIDEO: Ricky feeding a fledgling in a tree

May 29, 2008 - Empty nests

I knew there would be some Fledglings leaving the nest today but I didn't know all of them would! I really wanted to see at least one of the babies leave the nest and learn to fly. Oh well! The babies spent the morning preening and getting ready to leave the nest. I was gone for part of the day and when I came back, just the littlest bird was there:



I watched the baby frantically trying to pull all her baby feathers out; she wanted to go too! She is so little I thought for sure she would wait a day or two before leaving the nest. Plus, I had seen Lucy feed her many times through the day; with all the food for herself, you'd think she would want to stay as long as possible! I thought I had one more chance to see a baby leave the nest. Unfortunately when I came back from dinner, she was gone too. Some birthday present for me. :(



I have to say, Lucy's nest really stood up to the job. Better than Mama's at least. I guess we will never know what happened to that fourth hatchling. There is no evidence of it in the nest.

It's sad to see all of the babies and parents go. Jonnie and I had so much fun the past month checking on "our Robin's" through out the day. It's rough out there and we live in an area with lots of predators and dangers, I just hope all of these Robin's can make it! I will keep my eye out for the babies and hopefully I will be able to spot them in our neighborhood somewhere.

May 28, 2008 - These Robins are ready to fly!

Two of the birds (the older and bigger two) have learned to perch today and they have been doing a lot of it. The biggest nestling keeps looking over the side of the nest to see what is down there. He also keeps pecking at the leaves around him, trying to figure out what they are. There seems to be some peer pressure going on in the nest now. As soon as one preens and flaps and stands up, another one will give it a try. They are always checking out what the other ones are doing.

Do it! Do it!

Thinking about it...

Nah, you go first.

Today I found a Robin in the road in front of our house. I know it's not Lucy, Ricky or Robbie or Roxy, but I can't be sure that it isn't Mama or Daddy. Those two (especially Mama) were always flying across the street and have had many close calls with cars. I am going to pretend that it isn't one of them. Unfortunately, the damage is too great to see if it is either one of "my" Robin's. It's too sad to think about knowing that Mama has new eggs in a nest somewhere... Plus, I got a little attached to these birds after watching them, they each have their own personalities. Either way, it's sad because if it isn't one of mine, it is some other baby Robin's parent, poor things.

May 27, 2008 - Adorable, amazing and gross

Here is a video of the birds preening, learning to stand and stretch/flap their wings. It's amazing how fast they grow and how strong they are at less than two weeks old! Luckily, while they were exercizing and cleaning themselves, Lucy showed up for a feeding. Not so lucky, I got a visual of what happens after they digest the food.



(This video is a little longer than the rest, you have to let it load and buffer for a minute before it plays)

May 26, 2008 - Close-ups

Oldest

Middle child

Baby

May 25, 2008 - It ain't easy being teeny

Just like with Mama's nest, the little one always gets ignored. Although, Lucy's littlest seems to hold his own much better than Roxy did. He does get squished a lot and has always had to sleep on the top (and coldest) part of the nest, but he still does alright. He sits and sleeps with his mouth open so he is ready to get food the second Mom or Dad show up, pretty savvy! For every one feeding his siblings get two but it seems to be enough for him.

Getting squished and hoping for lunch

Trying to hide from me and still hoping for lunch

(those wispy white feathers are the ones they pull out when they preen)

May 24, 2008 - Three Robins in a row

The babies are starting to flap their wings, stand up and preen. The bird on the right is the baby, the other two were born on the same day. Sometimes the older ones will be laying on top of the baby and the poor thing gets squished. They are really starting to run out of room and now that they are spreading their wings they are always crashing into and stepping on each other.

May 23, 2008 - 2 babies that didn't make it

I can pretty much confirm now that Lucy's fourth hatchling didn't make it. I don't know what happened to it, but I do know that I haven't seen it since the day it was born. There is hardly any room left in the nest for the three of them, I can't imagine what it would have been like with four. It is business as usual with Lucy and Ricky; constantly foraging and feeding. The babies literally grow overnight, it is amazing.

I haven't seen much of Big Mama and Big Daddy. I did see them both foraging together for a brief time but that was it; no sign of Robbie and Roxy. I'm always looking for them though, I hope I get to see them at some point. Big Daddy still guards the nest, he ran another Robin out of his territory just like he used to when the babies were nesting. It's hard to believe that Mama is most likely laying eggs in another nest by now. I checked the empty nest today and the unhatched egg is still there. Looks like it got pushed into the very bottom of the nest.

May 22, 2008 - Bye, Bye Birdies!!

This morning I saw Robbie sitting on the edge of the nest, I had a feeling he would be ready to fly today. I left to drop Jonnie off at school and by the time I got home, both were gone! There has been no sign of them since. Someone didn't let Daddy in on it though; at least I think it is Big Daddy. The parents look so much alike, it's hard to tell them apart by looks alone. I usually would tell them apart by their behavior. Now that the babies are gone, I can't tell who is who. This morning after the babies left, I heard Big Daddy screeching and searching for his family. It was pretty heartbreaking to see. Usually, when Robin fledglings leave the nest, they spend two weeks with their Dad as he shows them the ropes. It doesn't appear to be the case here. Big Daddy has spent all day gathering food for babies that aren't there. This morning he had a mouthful of worms and was squawking for his kids. :( I haven't seen Mama at all today so I am assuming the babies are with her. I just hope Daddy figures out where they are!

VIDEO: Poor Big Daddy looking for his family.


This afternoon he has been patrolling his territory. (this is why I think it is Daddy and not Mama since she doesn't usually patrol) Earlier, Daddy got into a big scuffle with a male Baltimore Oriole! At one point, the Oriole even went INTO the empty nest! Daddy of course would have none of that so he went after him. Daddy, being not as aggressive as Mama, didn't do a great job and seemed intimidated. Eventually the Oriole got the point and left.






I am hoping that the babies will come back to the nest at night. I put a bird bath near their nest because I know one important lesson is to teach the kids to get water. Hopefully this will bring them back at least long enough so I can see them one more time and make sure they can fly. Daddy's main territory has always been in my neighbors yard so I am sure that if they are around, they are over there. I just wish I could see them in action!

GOOD LUCK ROBBIE AND ROXY!!

May 21, 2008 - Getting ready to fly

Robbie and Roxy are ready to go. They spend most of their time looking out of the nest, looking to the ground, etc. It is like they are trying to figure out how to get down and out of there! They don't shy away as much when they see me. They are getting bigger and bolder every day.

Roxy (L) Robbie (R)

14 days old

Roxy (L) Robbie (R)

There was a huge thunder and lightning storm late afternoon. Lucy and Ricky were off foraging and must have gotten stuck in a tree somewhere. The babies were left alone for most of it. The holly branches did offer some protection from the rain, but big droplets would fall on them from time to time. Eventually Lucy made her way back to the nest and covered up the little ones. Big Mama was right there when the storm started. I don't think Mama and Daddy go very far from their nest; they always seem available whenever the babies need them. Robbie and Roxy are so big now Mama had to sit on the edge of the nest to shield them from the storm.




I have only seen 3 of Lucy's babies the past few days. I am thinking something may have happened to one of them. They all sleep with their heads up so when Lucy or Ricky come to feed, all they have to do is open their mouths.

Their eyes are starting to open!

May 20, 2008 - Feedings and fights

It's been pretty quiet for Lucy's clan today. I still can't get over the amount of time she spends away from her nest. Even when it rains or the wind is gusting, she is nowhere to be found; Ricky isn't either. I have seen him on the nest guarding from time to time but not much. These two are much less hands on parents than Big Mama and Big Daddy are. On the other hand, they do have two more mouths to feed than Mama and Daddy do.



VIDEO!


Today Mama and Daddy had enough of the Blue Jay's. They got into a huge fight with one early this morning. It was so intense that it woke me up! I know that Mama will put up a good fight but until this morning, I had yet to see Big Daddy get his claws dirty. Today, both parents were full on brawling with this Blue Jay. They were fighting on the ground and in the air, all three of them were screaming and squawking at each other. Eventually, the pair chased the Jay into a neighbors yard. They must have been trying to hold their territory because neither of them came back for a good fifteen minutes. I was glad to see them both again, I always worry that something is going to happen to one of the parents. It seems like other birds have noticed Mama's nest. They fly by quite low, like they are checking things out. This happens several times a day now. I assume the Blue Jay got caught doing this and the fight ensued. Hopefully the Blue Jay learned his lesson!

Daddy guarding his nest from a near by branch

May 19, 2008 - Spreading their wings

Robbie and Roxy are learning to stretch and spread out their wings. They are much more active now. They will sit up and look around while waiting for their next meal. They don't make as much noise as I thought they would; I almost never hear them chirp. They are fully aware of what is going on around them now. They will look at me through the window and duck when they sense danger.

Figuring out their wings

Robbie

12 days old

The four babies seem to be doing well. The amount of work it takes to feed four babies is amazing. The parents pretty much spend their time feeding the kids from dawn to dusk. The babies don't get nearly as much incubating time as Mama's kid's did. It has been rainy and cold too; I would have thought they would need their Mom to incubate them more than food but thats not what Lucy has been doing. The babies also seem to take turns with who gets to go on the bottom of the pile, which, I imagine is the prime spot in this cold weather. I always feel bad when the little one gets stuck on top and is shivering.