I think we're suffering from empty nest syndrome *grin* We're missing the baby Robins terribly! Robins will nest twice in a season sometimes using the same nest for both batches so we're crossing our fingers that Mama will return. Above was all that was left of the nest after the last fledgling had left but Mama Robin has returned because the dropping that was there has been covered with a some new straw. Perhaps a promising sign of her coming return? If not, we have been so fortunate to have been able to observe it once and will always remember it even if we never get the chance to follow along so closely again :)
I finally have confirmation that our last two baby Robins are safe and sound!! I was standing in the kitchen doing some dishes and from the other side of the room I could hear the last baby Robin just a peeping away in its nest so I thought I'd have a peek and see what was up. Well the photo above is exactly what I found. Our last baby was getting ready to leave its cozy little nest and jump into the world around it :) There it stood with the wind blowing it's little fuzzy tufts of baby fuzz and swinging with the plant hanger.
Of course I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to catch it's first flight on camera so off I raced to grab the digital camera and quickly put it into movie mode :) I made it back just in time to catch it's very first flight as a fledgling. You can view it above. It's not very long but you can see it take off from the plant hanger before I go racing out the door to find out where it was going *grin* Boy, I just can't mind my own business can I! Actually just before the movie ends you can hear me exclaim 'there it is'. I spotted Mama Robin down at the end of the grass calling to it. Baby flew the whole distance before setting down.
Here it is sitting under the brush by the side of the driveway and Mama was tweeting away to it a little further on, encouraging it to keep moving along.
There it goes.....
It is so cute :) Here it is taking another rest before Mama Robin leads it into the chicken yard. That must be the grove of trees that Daddy Robin is in. We're going to have to do some exploring and see if we can spot them up on one of the branches.
Here's one final video of our Baby Robin before it disappears :) Mama Robin is calling to it and you can tell that she is communicating to it and making sure that it follows her :) So neat!
Last night before it was to dim to take any pictures I got one last shot of the two baby Robins in the nest with Mama....
And this morning there is only one left. Our second 'fledgling' has left the nest, and I think it was successful this time! There is no signs of it anywhere, so we're crossing our fingers that this one has made it safely to it's new perch. When the fledglings leave the nest and are successful at flying they don't return to the nest again. Instead they will join Daddy Robin on the tree branch he sleeps on :) Mama will continue to bring it some worms and it will remain there for roughly another 2 weeks before it is a 'good' flyer and then moves on by itself.
Do you know why baby Robins have speckled chests instead of bright red ones? To camouflage themselves in the brush and leaves below their nests. When the baby fledgling leaps from the nest and lands on the ground the color of it will give it some protection for hiding so that it won't be as easily spotted by predators. Their red breasts will grow in in a couple of weeks when the downy feathers are pushed out by adult feathers :)
This morning when we went to check on the baby Robins we only found two of them in the nest. Of course we immediately were excited because the third one was now a 'fledgling' we thought! Fledglings are baby Robins that are at the stage of jumping out of the nest and starting to practice flying :)
I went outside to see if I could catch a glimpse of it hopping around on the ground and snap a photo of him from a distance but I couldn't find it anywhere! At first I thought that it had really done well and must have already went to be with Daddy..... but then I found it. It was to late to save him. By the looks of his feathers on his wings I don't think that it was even ready to make the jump but maybe so, or perhaps when they were stretching and moving around in the nest it accidentally fell out? We're all saddened by the news and have buried him to detract any cats and such from coming to it and prowling around the nest area. I wonder what the survival rate of Robin fledglings is? I'll have to find out.
Our three little Robin babies are really filling out their little nest now and are big enough to keep themselves warm so Mama Robin is no longer sleeping in the nest at night unless it rains :) She really has to take a leap of faith to sleep else where while her babies are alone!
Look at those wide eyes, they are completely alert to their surroundings now :) Did you notice that their beaks are changing color and starting to lengthen a bit?
It's been 2 full days since I've taken a photo of the Robin babies and all of a sudden they have sprouted feathers!! Their growth spurt is going full speed ahead :) Today they were busy stretching and spreading their wings after feedings, soon they will be getting ready to make the leap out of the nest. They usually make the big jump when they are 12 - 14 days old, that means we only have a few more days left with them.
Did you know that each of the baby Robins will probably eat around 14 feet of worms in their two week stay in the nest?
I captured a little snippet of Mama Robin feeding her babies today!! I don't have my digital camera card right now so I only had the internal memory to work with so the video is very short *grin* but I looped it so you can see it twice. Still cool even if it's short :)
You can see what I was talking about in an earlier post about the babies being fed larger chunks of worms now. Mama had quite a mouthful when she arrived and then placed it on the side of the nest picking up chunks to be distributed amongst the babies.
Here's a final close up of the babies :)
Robin babies hatch in the same order that their eggs were laid which means that all of the babies were not born on the same day! Can you tell which one is the oldest in the above photo?
Our Baby Robin's Eyes Are Open & Emergency Care for Orphaned Baby Birds
Our baby Robin's eyes are fully open today. Yesterday they were just starting to peak out of them and today they are really starting to open up and check out the big world around them :) Their growth rate is absolutely astonishing to!! Tomorrow is day 8 and if you look back at June 2nd the first pictures after they were born, it's hard to believe it's them!
Little 'pin feathers' are starting to pop out all over their bodies now as well. Pin feathers or 'blood feathers' as they are quite often referred to on baby birds (hatchlings) look just like the base of a feather but unlike a fully developed feather the pin feathers have blood flowing all throughout them. If you look at the above photo you can see them protruding out of their wings and down the center of their heads. The pin feathers can also be quite sensitive and if damaged can bleed quite heavily sometimes resulting in death. As the pin feathers continue to grow the blood supply recedes and no longer flows through the entire area but only in the base now and the feathers will grow out of the tips. I wonder if it is uncomfortable for them now, since their bodies are covered with hundreds of those little pin feathers :(
A while back someone had found a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest and been abandoned and had asked me if I knew what to do for it. Unfortunately at that time we really hadn't studied up on baby birds much and I had no clue as to what would be required to take care of one and recommended that contacting their local wildlife protection agency would probably be the best bet. I still think that if you do happen to come across a baby bird that seems to be in need of human help the best think would be to contact your wildlife agency but there are a few things to observe or take into consideration first before embarking on a rescue mission :)
Firstly many rescued birds that appear to be in need of help actually are not and are being taken care of by their parents :) In the case of a 'fledgling' or fully feathered baby that appears to be abandoned on the ground it is a good idea to watch quietly from a distance for just under 2 hours. Fledglings are not quite ready to fly yet but quite often fall or jump from their nests and the mother will continue to feed it and protect it until it takes flight.
Half naked baby birds that are covered in a mix of pin feathers and real feathers sometimes get knocked out of the nest by accident or may even get blown out by the wind! If you know where the nest is and the baby is uninjured and you can safely return it to its nest then you can gently put it back. The mother bird will not abandon the babies because you have handled it since they have a very poor sense of smell and won't be able to detect your scent on the baby.
Naked babies or hatchlings 0-14 days old are extremely hard to put back into their nests because they cannot survive long without the necessary warmth and food they need on a strict schedule. There are many different signs to look for before even attempting to replace the hatchling back into its nest.
THIS website has a check list on what to look for when rescuing a hatchling and many tips on how to help fledglings and partially feathered babies that may have been accidentally knocked out of their nests. Please check it out so that if you do come across a baby bird that looks as if it may need assistance you will be better informed on what to do next :)
Our little Robin babies are growing so quickly! They have been much more content today and yesterday as well, sleeping most of the time and not popping up for food constantly. Normally when we open the window to take a picture they hear us and all pop up right away thinking that we might have something good to feed them, but today they barely lifted their heads :) The larger chunks of worms that mama has been bringing to them must be more substantial than the previous regurgitated worms. Their skin color is changing now as well from the bright pinkish color that they had to a darker brown/black color and some of their fuzzy down on their bodies is starting to be replaced with the new growth of feathers soon to be.
K was thoroughly thrilled that he was able to sit in a chair in the dark today and watch mama & papa Robin come and feed their babies. They didn't seem to mind that they were being observed and went about their duties just as nothing was wrong :)
I've been getting more sneaky in my picture taking tactics *grin*
This evening after everyone was in bed I stood super close to the wall beside the kitchen window with only my hand and camera extended in front of the window waiting perfectly still for Mama Robin to return with a worm for her babies :) Well the strain in my arm from holding it up that way for nearly 7 minutes paid off! One of the parents landed on the planter and immediately all 3 babies went into 'feed me' mode and I was able to snap away unnoticed :)
They will be 6 days old tomorrow and have now graduated from the regurgitated worms that they started out with. Mama & Papa have been bringing larger pieces of worm that they have been breaking into bite sized pieces for them to eat. Just imagine how many worms are devoured during the summer hatchling season!
Uh oh, I think I've been spotted! Time to retreat slowly so they can continue with lunch :) If you're new to my blog make sure you check out the rest of our Robin baby chronicles by clicking on the 'Robin Nest Updates' button on my left sidebar or by clicking HERE.
Each day brings something new and fascinating to be learned from our baby Robin observations :)
Today when we were reviewing photos that I had quickly snapped while mama was away revealed that our baby birds have ears! I know, of course they have ears but we've never seen one
before :) Actually most of us have probably never seen a bird's ear since they don't have outer ear lobes like we do. Their ears are hidden behind special feathers called 'auricular feathers' which protect the ear opening, reflect sounds and also funnel sounds towards the opening.
Can you think of one very important reason why a bird would want its ears hidden behind feathers? To cut down on wind noise! Think of the last time it was super windy outside while you were playing, do you remember what it sounded like? Probably quite noisy with the wind whistling and blowing loudly and swirling in and around your ear lobes making it hard to hear other noises around you. Well those special 'auricular feathers' over a Robin's ears reflect the noise from the wind while still letting other sounds around them enter their ears even while the wind is blowing!
Another neat fact about bird ears is that they differ in size and are quite often placed asymmetrically or not in the exact same place on either side of their head. Large birds that don't fly usually have very large ear openings without feathers for good hearing while birds that tend to go underwater frequently have small ear openings that in some cases can close off when going underwater. The unequal positioning of a birds ears is so that they can detect sounds first by one ear and then another to help them locate the direction of sound more easily :)
Well it's official... my nature blog has gone to the birds *grin*
I had a chance to snap a photo of all 3 of the little hungry robin babies today ;) There are two that are always popping their heads up but the third one just may be the runt because he is a little slower at getting his heavy head in the 'feed me' position. For the first 4 or 5 days the baby Robins get regurgitated worms which are already partially digested brought to them by their parents. Did you know that a mama Robin might make 100 trips to feed her babies in just one day! That puts a whole new light on feeding our children 3 square meals a day *grin*
I'll leave you with one final photo again of the little babies. They're getting stronger! The front little guy is actually right up on his feet today making sure he gets the first share of worms, and look their eyes are starting to open up today :)
We got some really cool video footage today to but I'm having some trouble downloading it off my camera :( Hopefully tomorrow I will get it figured out!
We've just suspended our digital camera above the nest on video camera mode. Crossing our fingers that we'll get some decent footage to share and keep for ourselves :) It's quite windy today though so the planter/nest and the camera are swinging quite a bit so it may all be a blur *grin* I'll keep you posted!
I can't get enough of these little guys! They are just so cute in an ugly sort of way *grin* I mean look at all that fuzz :)
Two things that baby Robins know from birth is that they MUST stay still when mama Robin is away, and how to recognize their parents when they come to feed them. They can't recognize mom and dad right away because their eyes are closed and they haven't learned to recognize the sound of them just yet so they respond to movement on the nest. Yep, when mama Robin lands on the nest with some good old regurgitated worm the nest bounces and this is the signal to sit up straight and open wide! When I went to take the picture above I bumped the side of the plant hanger accidentally and two bright yellow mouths immediately popped up and open for food :) Sort of reminds me of that great children's book called 'Are you my mother?' where the baby bird is trying to find out who its mother is by asking all different animals :)
I'll leave you with one more photo :) Doesn't he remind you of a Jim Henson muppet face? *grin*
Yesterday we counted the days since Mama Robin started sitting on her eggs and realized that they should be ready to hatch any day and guess what we found today? BABIES!!! Three little pink bodies covered with a smattering of fuzz and huge dark bulging eyes. Being excited is an extreme understatement so I'll let you imagine just how we reacted *grin*
Just look at that hungry little mouth! Mama Robin and daddy have been flying back and forth steady collecting worms to feed their babies. It takes an awful lot of food to keep those bright yellow beaks happy :) Did you know that a baby robin only weighs around 5.5 grams, a little less than a quarter?
This is absolutely amazing, I still can't believe that we are so fortunate to be able to watch them and that I can share it with you as well :)
Click HERE to follow all of our Robin's nest photos and entries, like finding out what a 'brood patch is for' or click on the robin's nest on the left sidebar.
I just love to sneak peaks around the island in the kitchen to check and see if Mama Robin is in her nest as do the children, but I think I do it even more frequently than they do :) The tell tale sign of her tail poking up and over the rim of the plant hanger alerts me that I shouldn't get any closer but I still hang about peaking around the corner watching for any movements on her part and even hoping sometimes that she might spy me and poke her head up to get a better look like in the above photo *grin* Isn't it just awful!! I know she sees me but doesn't seem to care in the slightest anymore, which is actually great.
We're on Day 12 since the last little blue egg was laid and she is such a good Mama. Robin eggs usually tend to take 12 - 14 days to hatch which means the babies should be arriving VERY soon! Mama Robin only leaves the nest for 5 - 10 minutes at a time and that is when we usually run over to have a peak in the nest *grin* Quite often we have caught her on the return trip to the nest and she always arrives with a worm wriggling in her beak to snack on while she sits.
We have also been able to observe her rotating the eggs in the nest quite a few times during the day. Turning the eggs keeps them evenly heated and also keeps the baby chicks from sticking to the inside of the eggshell.
Did you know that a Robin has a temperature of 104*F or more sometimes? Her feathers act as insulators keeping her body temperature in while her feathers feel cold to the touch! Mama Robins need to have a special way to keep their eggs warm then for incubation and I bet you'll never guess how :) They actually have a bald spot called a 'Brood Patch' or 'Incubation Patch' on their bellies underneath their feathers that they use to keep the eggs at a constant temperature. When the Mama Robin sits on the eggs she fluffs up her under feathers with the help of her skin muscles to reveal the brood patch creating a skin to egg contact which creates the perfect temperature. Apparently there are little sensors on the brood patch as well that help the mother tell what temperature her eggs are so that she can get on and off of them accordingly to their needs for heat. Wow! Another super cool thing about birds :) Click HERE if you want to see what an actual brood patch looks like!
Mama Robin has finished laying her eggs, she's sticking with three :) I stood on the clothesline stand outside this afternoon to try and get a photo of her in her nest without disturbing her by trying to take it through the window, but the plant hanger is quite deep so all you can see is her head poking out as she checked out what I was up to *grin* You can see her eyes and beak.
She has become accustomed to our movements past the window in the house and only checks out what is going on inside the kitchen if we get within a foot of the window which isn't very often since we try to go there only when we know she is off getting food. When she's in the nest her tail sticks up the side of the plant hanger making it clear she is there :)
Apparently they can lay 3 or 4 eggs and occasionally 5 but not very often. Well we now have 3 blue jewels in the nest outside the kitchen window so she must be nearing the end of her laying period. Did you know that a Robin only has one ovary unlike mammals that have two? That is so interesting. Another interesting tidbit is that the mama Robin will not sit on her eggs until she is just about done laying. She keeps them cold until the end so that they will all develop and hatch at the same time. Now that's smart!
