They do it silently, stealthily, and very, very fast. Before you even know what's going on, they have the mud base laid down and they're lining that perfectly symmetrical bowl with soft grasses.
Robins. The fastest nest-builders in the West. Well, the Midwest. I was so lucky this past spring--they nested with me!! Here is the spot they picked in my yard:
As you can see, it's not really in my yard--it's on my porch, in one of my hanging baskets otherwise filled with purple wave petunias, which I sense are not going to get the best of the deal. Can you see Momma Robin staring at me suspiciously? A second later, she flew away. I'll have to be careful not to bother her too much.
Days One & Two: Next day, I found one gorgeous blue egg. The day after, there were two. They looked like this (left).
Day Three:
The mother bird must form one egg a day within her body (perhaps at night? I should look this up), and lay it in the morning, because this morning, I found three! Where does the blue color come from? I wonder how many more eggs will appear? Stay tuned . . .
Day Four:
Only three eggs again this morning. Robins lay anywhere from two to four eggs, I learned. Looks like this might be a three-egg-nest. Momma left for a while this morning--maybe she is hungry. I will try to get a picture of her. By the way, two great books about eggs and nests are: Hummingbird Nest by Kristine O'Connell George, and An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston.
To the right is a photo of the hanging basket from the front (hard to see the nest, isn't it?), including the bench from which I take pictures.
Day 5:
Hold the phone . . . after I posted yesterday, the robin returned to her nest. I peeked in later that afternoon and there was THE FOURTH EGG! Great excitement. There goes my theory that eggs are formed overnight and laid in the morning. Actually, I did learn a little more about robins, thanks to my local library. They are members of the thrush family, which means they're related to bluebirds. I also learned that we're going to have to wait TWO WEEKS before seeing baby robins. So, the next two weeks will be kind of slow in the nest department. I'll try to get some shots of Momma (and Papa) Robin during that time.
Day 11
Came back from a brief holiday to find Momma Robin is still steadfastly sitting on her eggs, showing me her tail. That's her favorite position, I think because she's facing out, peering into the yard for possible danger. I am having trouble photographing her off the nest, because she flies up into one of our maple trees, hidden from view. My goal is to catch her splashing in the birdbath!
Day 14
Picture of birdbath above. Note that there are no robins visible. Momma Robin hardly moves from her perch. I think she did all her bathing before she started nesting! By the way, the white domed object in the birdbath is a "water wiggler." It makes tiny waves in the water so that mosquitoes can't breed. One cool thing I've noticed, but have been unable to photograph because it is too dark: at about dusk, the Papa Robin flies to the nest and stands on the edge, near his mate. I suspect that he's bringing her food--and perhaps also wants to clap eyes on those eggs and make sure they're OK?
By my calculations, we should be seeing baby robins in the next few days--!
Day 15
THE BABIES HAVE HATCHED!!! Most of them, anyway. I noticed Momma standing over the nest instead of sitting on it, so as soon as she left, I investigated. At that point (top photo) two of the babies were fully hatched, and a third was wiggling out of its shell (topmost baby in photo). A little while later, he'd come completely out and the mother/father had removed the shell. It appears one egg is still unhatched--maybe tomorrow? Papa Robin has been helping out--I saw both at the nest together, gazing adoringly--and maybe a little nervously--upon their hatching chicks. Baby robins are altricial, which means they are hatched with eyes closed, with little or no down, incapable of flying, and dependent on their parents for food (can you tell?). It'll be another two weeks before these chicks are ready to hit the lawn. Other birds (like many ducks) are precocial, which means they are hatched with eyes open, covered with down, and leave the nest within two days. But not robins or other songbirds.
It's very hot here--94 degrees. I actually saw the Momma Robin panting earlier. Yes, birds pant, like dogs! I looked it up!
Day 17
The fourth egg has hatched! Can you see four little bowling-ball heads with huge purple closed eyes? I must say, though, that these little guys are looking more birdlike than two days ago. The alpha-chick on top is positively hairy! Thank goodness the temperature has cooled down (we had a tremendous rainstorm) so Momma won't get overheated any more.
I found out that robins thrive in yards that are free of weedkillers and pesticides, since they eat worms that live in the soil and could ingest those chemicals. This makes me doubly glad we treat our lawn organically. Dandelions are really very pretty, don't you think?
Later the same day . . . finally caught one of them bathing! It wasn't the usually extravaganza of dunking and splashing, just a quick in-and-out. Too much work to be done--like catching grasshoppers to feed to the young 'uns.
Day 19 (recalculated after I realized a counting error)
It is astounding to me how much these chicks have changed in merely four days. Look at those beaks! And those baby wing-feathers! And those hefty bodies, compared with their first worm-like pictures! Their skin has darkened quite a bit, also. According to a book I got from the library (The American Robin, by Roland H. Wauer), the chicks have been fed regurgitated food these first few days, and will be getting the real stuff from now on--worms, grasshoppers, beetles, ants, spiders, caterpillars, etc. Yum!
Momma and Papa have been kept very busy providing all this food. The above photos were taken in a rare moment when I could see both of them foraging. Yesterday, I was reading the paper and I heard a series of steady, plaintive calls. I went to investigate, and Momma (Papa? I have trouble telling them apart--both have brilliant red breasts) was sitting on the nest, calling at regular intervals. Was she calling her mate? "A little help here!" Or was she getting her babies used to her voice? I don't know.
