nest

Bird Watching

After a few years without one, we have been blessed again this year with a robin’s nest in our cherry tree. The first thing I do each morning is peek out the window, and see how our expectant tenant is doing. And usually, I see her sitting on how ever many eggs she’s incubating…she rarely leaves her post.

This morning, however, I was surprised to see the robin perched on the edge of the nest, looking into it. With as confused a face as a bird can have. It would look closer every now and again, or tilt its head to the side like it was puzzled. And I was confused, and somewhat worried that something had happened to the eggs, and the bird was trying to figure it out.

Because I was concerned, I kept watching. And this went on for quite some time, with the bird never relinquishing its position perched on the side of the nest, but still looking as baffled as a robin can look.

And then, suddenly, another robin flew into the tree, and promptly arranged herself on the eggs. And as soon as that happened, the other bird flew off.

It dawned on me that I had been watching the father at the nest. And, as Turkey pointed out, like most new fathers, he couldn’t help but look confused.

It was a funny thing to realize after the fact that he had clearly been put on guard duty, and took his job quite literally, never once sitting on the eggs like the female would, but rather dutifully watching over them. And it was just as funny to watch the female come back, and not even check the nest out before she got back to her job of keeping her eggs warm.

It never ceases to amaze me how you can see God’s design for creation at work, if you just take the time to look around!

And Then There Were Four

We’re up to four eggs in the robin’s nest now.

From what little research I’ve done, this seems to be a very average number of eggs, as most robins lay between three and five at a time.

Now we just have to wait and see if four is it, or if this robin is an overachiever, and decides to go for the above-average five!

The Third Egg

Apparently there is a lot about birds I don’t know.

Yesterday afternoon, the nest in our tree contained two robin’s eggs. And they’d been there since at least Friday morning. This morning, I discovered that there are now three eggs in the nest.

It’s not the number of eggs that surprises me…I was actually a little surprised that there were “only” two in the first place. I was expecting there to be three or four. What I did find surprising was the fact that so much time could pass in the egg-laying process. I had always assumed that all of the eggs would be laid in a short period of time…within one day, I guess. So now I’m left wondering if this is it this time, or if we might find a fourth egg in a couple of days!

Our Robin

Our robin actually let me get close enough to take a picture of her yesterday afternoon. To be honest, I think it was nap time–while she did keep a close eye on me, she seemed too tired to bother to fly away. Hopefully I’ll get a similar close-up once the eggs hatch!

Birdwatching

I have to say, I’m really enjoying having a bird’s nest in our tree!

I wish I could share a picture of the bird on her nest, but every time we leave the house, the bird spooks and flies off. The tree is right by of our front window, however, so I can see her sitting there from the comfort of our den. For some reason, I find it very entertaining just to watch her. Every now and again she stands up, stretches, (I assume that’s what she’s doing, anyway), and sits back down in a slightly different position. I imagine it does get rather tiresome sitting on eggs all day, everyday.

Earlier, another bird made the mistake of perching on the other side of the tree. I can’t even describe the noise that followed; suffice it to say, the other bird left quickly! I had forgotten just how protective birds are of their young. That could make getting a picture of the babies once they hatch challenging to say the least, but I shall try!

This experience has also raised some questions. Does the mother leave the nest to hunt worms? She must, right? Do robins mate for life (I know some birds do)? If so, where is the male, and what is he doing? If not, does he care about his babies at all, or has he just moved on? Why are robin’s eggs blue? Are eggs uncomfortable to sit on, or is a bird’s body designed so that it’s not too bad? I’m determined to find the answers to at least some of these, because my curiosity has been piqued.

I’m loving this living biology lab right in our own front yard!

Inside the Nest

It’s a very exciting day here!

We are very excited that Robert and Roberta, (what else are you going to name two robins?), are going to be parents. The children immediately pointed out how small the eggs are–I guess they were expecting something more chicken egg sized. They are also mildly surprised at just how blue the eggs are. I’m just hoping these eggs survive so we get to see the baby birds!

There’s No Place Like Home

While I love my home, that isn’t what this is about. It’s also not about The Wizard of Oz. No, it’s actually about someone else’s home…

Our cherry tree seems to be a popular hangout. We’ve noticed that the neighborhood robins really like our front yard, (the children have named them Robert and Roberta), and apparently one of them liked it enough to call it home. The bird was even thoughtful enough to build the nest in the bottom branches, where all of the children have been able to get a really awesome view of how a nest is put together. I haven’t actually seen the bird in the nest yet, but I’m hoping if we’re really lucky, there may be baby birds at some point!