This June, I watched a robin build a nest in a blue spruce tree outside my window. amazing what workmanship can be wrought with a beak! She wove grasses and twigs together and then padded the nest with mud. When the nest was complete, she laid 3 eggs over several days.
Only one egg hatched. This baby robin is all mouth. A mother robin not only knows when to feed her babies, she knows the proper combination of bugs and worms for each feeding.
With worm in beak, the mother robin is perched on the dumpster which is next to the nest tree.
snoozing (about 2 days old)
snoozing (about a week old)
starting to check out the world beyond the nest
fully feathered at nearly 2 weeks old and preparing to fledge
LINK:American Robin a plethora of information! answers to more questions than you could EVER think to ask!
a little background and some information--We just bought a house and were preparing for a tear-off re-roofing. I noticed a robin starting to build a nest in a tree right next to the dumpster. Oh no! Can I move the nest? I wondered. That led me on a journey of internet research and the discovery of the wonderful site in the link above.
What I found out--
► Robins carefully choose the site of their nests, memorizing all details of location. If the nest is moved, they won't recognize it.
► After laying eggs, the mother sits on the nest, rotating the eggs and keeping them at the proper temperature and humidity levels.► Robins have 2-3 nestings per year with the same partner. (They do not mate for life.)
► Most robins die their first year, but if they make it beyond, they live for 5-6 years.
► robin songs:
true song a territorial declaration
dawn song another territorial delcaration
"peek" and "tut" calls are heard in alarm situations
whinny heard in mildly alarming situations
"seeee" call given in response to the presence of an aerial predator
"zeeup" call a contact note heard mainly during migration
I'm participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. Come and join in the fun! You will be charmed and even enlightened in a delightful way! See more entries HERE. This week our letter is "N."
photos by me © 2011