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 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 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 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

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 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!!!!