Also..... Chatting with Paige this morning, who's been watching Mama Bird out the back window while she sips her morning coffee, pecking for worms and such. She's frustrated that while she sees many finches out back, she can't determine where their nests are. She's tried to follow the finches around the yard to see where they are going, but 1. There are several, it's hard to keep track and 2. They tend to fly up higher than she can see. Possibly they've made a nest up in one of the gutters? Anyone know? Also, she's observed definitively that the finches and robins seem to stay in the backyard, while the mockingbirds seem to stay in the front yard....she's never once seen a mockingbird in the back yard, but sees them out front all the time. I think I even posted here a couple years ago about a mockingbird nest in the tree out front. It really sounds like these birds have some kind of ownership about different areas. I never knew birds were territorial like that... Are they?
This is getting so exciting. Our robins usually lay four eggs on average and can have three broods in a good year.
I can't attach the pic, but there are 3 eggs now! It showed up around lunchtime yesterday. I'm reading that because robins gather their worms in the early morning, egg laying happens mid-morning to noon. I'm anxious to see if we get a 4th today
So, we're still at 4 eggs and holding, so I think yesterday started Day 1 of the 12-14 day incubation period.
Oh I can hardly wait to see those chicks emerging!! I buy a pot of live meal worms when I know there are nestlings around and the parent birds seem to appreciate the help I give them. It allows them a little more time for themselves and what parent wouldn't be glad of that?
The latest from Paige: Mama robin is definitely in incubation mode since I rarely see her outside of the playhouse. She used to sit on the fence and sing for 30-45 minutes every morning, but not anymore. I try to limit our time outside, but when we do go out to play or water the plants, mama flies out of the playhouse and then sits on the fence and squawks at us until we go inside. Yesterday I watched dad bird scuffle with a third robin who entered the territory, until it flew off. They definitely seem like attentive parents already, which bodes well for when the babies emerge.
Paige should be hearing the chirping of babies any time from the 12th to the 14th day od incubation. Not too long now!!
Latest news from Paige: She is about halfway through incubation now, and I would so love to get some video of the babies when they hatch, but first I wanted to gauge her reaction to the camera being closer to the nest. It doesn't seem to phase her, I'm not even sure she noticed. After I set up the tripod, she was back in the nest within about 30 seconds of me going inside. I got some clips of her rotating the eggs and doing her thing
Fantastic!! Now the hard work begins for the parent birds. I really hope all four little ones make it and that Paige can see them grow and leave the nest. So far, this year, there are no nests in our garden but I live in hope.
The babies are doing well and HUGE! It's crazy how fast they grow. I can't get photos to work on my phone, maybe Mom can grab some of the pics I've taken and share them? I did put out some mealworms, but mama and dada Robin haven't touched them yet.. There seems to be no shortage of worms around here, so hopefully these babies will have plenty to eat. We don't have a ton of wildlife since this is a new development, so my hopes are high that the babies will make it to the fledgling stage and fly high without worry of predators lurking! I did watch some mockingbirds chasing after a huge black bird (crow?) today, but thankfully it was far down the hill away from our back yard, and our Robin babies are tucked away in the playhouse and hopefully out of sight.
I think your robin has been very wise to nest in the playhouse Paige. I doubt if anything will want to go in their after the youngsters. If there's no shortage of worms where you are then they parent birds may nest again shortly after their young are able to fend for themselves.
On it, Paige! Here you go...here's a series: eggs: Day 1: Day 2: Day 3: Day 4. Their eyes are just starting to open!
