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 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.

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 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 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.

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 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!!!!

May 7, 2008 - Warm eggs

Haven't been around much today so I didn't get to watch the ladies at all. But, I did see Big Mama sitting on the edge of her nest this afternoon. She was cleaning herself and just looking around. I know the eggs have to maintain a pretty steady temp and the Mom's will hop to the edge of the nest to cool the eggs off a bit. I this is the first time I am seeing this. Usually they only hop on the edge to turn the eggs and then they are right back on. I am assuming she is letting them cool because the little hatchlings inside are getting big and starting to give off their own heat!!

This is the holly tree where Mama is.

Her nest is right near our bedroom window!

May 6, 2008 - A quiet day

Things have been quiet for the two Mom's today. They spent most of their time in their nests. So, all in all it has been a pretty mellow day. I hope they take advantage of this down time. When those eggs hatch they will be running day and night to feed them!

Big Mama looking pretty

This is Big Daddy in protector mode.

When he senses a threat or intruder, he puts his wings down to appear larger.

This stance was directed at me this time.

I guess he thought I was too close to his nest or his woman.

May 5, 2008 - The results are in... You ARE the father!

I was beginning to think that Big Mama had a deadbeat partner. But I finally spotted him guarding her and the nest the other night. He's a handsome guy!!

Big Daddy

He keeps out of sight usually. I think he spends most of his time in the back yard, but always within earshot of Mama. I see a Robin at my feeder a lot, I am not 100% sure if this is him but I think it is.

Looks like Lucy is in the incubation stage now, I just saw the four eggs this afternoon. Usually she lays an egg between 11 AM and Noon. If you watch them enough, you can really tell their schedules. Today it seems like she has spent most of her time at the nest rather than eating. When she laid eggs she took a lot of breaks and ate a lot. She isn't doing this much at all now.

Lucy incubating

Big Mama incubating

May 4, 2008 - Quaduplets and Hawks

Lucy laid another egg today!!

She seemed really tired and kept leaving the nest to refuel so I figured she wasn't done yet! I wonder if this will be it for her. I kind of hope so, I can't imagine how hard it will be to take care of four babies!

There was lots of drama in the front yard today. A pair of Grackle's came into the yard and neither bird seemed worried. But the fathers were; I could hear them both warning the mothers but I wasn't sure why. The Grackles quickly took off. Sure enough, about a minute later I see three Red Tailed Hawk's circling! Both Mom's appeared pretty nervous and got really low in their nest's. The Dad's were hiding in their tree's squawking away. After about 10 minutes, it seemed that the coast was clear and things quieted down.

Grackle intruders

Red Tailed Hawk

Both of the Mom's decided to forage in the yard. Lucy and Big Mama had a little scuffle but nothing major. Lucy seems to hold her own against Big Mama now. Big Mama conceded and went to her side of the yard. (I wonder if things will remain this civil when they are competing for food to feed their babies) Within a few minutes the Dad's sounded their alarms again and the birds scattered. Lucy went into a tree and Big Mama hid under some pines. I saw a lone Hawk circling the tree above Lucy. She was anxious to get back to her nest but had to stay their for her own safety. After a few minutes she quickly flew into the nest and Big Mama made her way back to hers. Hopefully the afternoon will be a lot quieter for these hard working Mom's!

A showdown between the Mom's

(Lucy on Left, Mama on Right)

Lucy waiting for the Hawk to pass

Lucy quickly flying back to her nest