Robins nesting by deck (great photo op!)

I've got a robin nest in a climbing rose, right next to my deck! A mockingbird was actually the first to start building there, and then she decided there was too much activity around for her comfort, so she left. The robin took over, and after a while she laid 3 beautiful blue eggs for me to admire! I did a little bit of pruning so I could get a good view and to make it easier to take photos.

When I go down the steps by the rose, she shrieks and flies off to the nearby fence, where she scolds until she has succeeded in driving me away. (Well, actually, I just leave on my own, but I'm sure she gives herself the credit.) From time to time, I forget she is there and I just run down the steps without thinking about it... She flies up in my face and shrieks at me, I shriek in startlement and fall down the steps, and I think her mate finds it all very entertaining (my next door neighbor has had a few good laughs also).

Here's the nest with the freshly laid eggs.

This photo shows the little side garden bed and the location of the climbing rose... now you can picture the scene where I come down the steps and everybody is startled and/or amused. LOL

The climbing rose is a Zepherine Drouhin, and I love it! It's tough (only bothered a little by blackspot and japanese beetles, not decimated like a couple of rose bushes that have perished in my garden), and it will bloom in part shade (even, they say, on the north side of a house), and it's fragrant, and it's nearly thornless (a plus, given the way it tries to overrun the steps).

Today was Hatching Day!!!

Here are the two babies who have hatched so far. They had their heads up earlier, tiny beaks stretched wide, but they were sound asleep when I went out again with the camera.

Oh gawd I love those birds. I never tire of finding their nests and peeking. I set up a birdbath the last time I found a nest in the ornamental tree about 15' from our front door. Whenever I gardened and ran across worms, I would pluck them from the ground and place them in a baggie to be tossed into her waterless birdbath. For a few days, she didn't make the connection and some of the worms crawled out and over the lip and others fried out in the sun and stuck to the concrete surface. Finally she must have spotted the tender juicy morsels wiggling around waiting for her to find and she went over to check it out. From then on, any time I walked over to the birdbath to leave treats for her she would wait for me to leave the area then fly over to get her free meals. It was fun. We used to watch from the dining room window.

My nephew is staying with us for several days next week (he's 5, so it's his turn for "Camp Uncle Jim & Aunt Jill")... I can't wait to surprise him with the robins! We'll have to watch and see when they switch from eating regurgitated worm to eating fresh wriggling ones... I'm hoping he'll be able to feed them a worm while he's here, or at least put worms out for Mama Robin as you did. She's getting pretty used to my presence, but she can't quite bring herself to remain on the nest if I'm actually on the steps.

Oh what fun! A five year old. The age of wonder. Did you get him a bug box, a net, and an el cheapo Sherlock Homes magnifying glass from WalMart? You're a cool aunt to have him over for a week.

You can use the drip tray to a pot if it is big enough with a decent lip (the worms crawl out way too easily if the lip is too low) but it will be new to your robin so you might want to start setting it out now so that she is familiar with it. Stocking it might be a good idea too since it took mine longer than I thought to figure out what I was doing. All the joy will be gone if she isn't "trained" to it and he has to sit there watching worms fry in the sun because she doesn't realize it's a personal buffet. The other thing we did that I am sort of embarrassed to admit to was to go to PetSmart to buy about $10 worth of crickets. We let them all go and I think she got a few. That was it, $10 down the drain.

That would've been a good idea... but we'll be on our way to Pittsburgh in the morning... Maybe we'll just dig worms to the surface at one end of the garden bed... The robins are all pretty much trained to check out any area where I've been digging, in fact I think they have learned to come around when they hear the tiller start up! Older baby robins are quite happy to get a worm dangled down to them (and I've never had a mama robin mind my taking a turn with the feeding), but I draw the line at chewing the worm and spitting it up for them! :-6

I've got a butterfly net and a magnifying glass, and a friend sent me a "bug vac"... works well on most little bugs, but I've already discovered that the only effect it has on wasps is to annoy them LOL.

On wasps, I either run away or I spray them to death. Been stung enough times in my lifetime that at one point I had a major lallergy to them. Don't anymore but I don't take chances. lol

Robins are fun to watch. I always know it's spring when I see and hear them.

LOL!! You won't catch me doing that!!

Naa, I used a blender myself.

I was wondering if "blender worm" would do the trick, or if there are also some digestive enzymes involved in what mama robin regurgitates for her little ones. He is 5... He would not mind mincing some worms to feed the baby birds! LOL

I am told blender worms can do the trick. My girlfriend owns a pet shop and she helped me try to save a few baby robins.

They're getting bigger! Here they are on Day 4...

The third egg is still unhatched, and I'm guessing it's probably not viable. I'm assuming the nest will eventually start feeling crowded, and mama robin will remove the egg.

I had a hard time getting a classic open-mouth photo... they'd stretch up their necks for just an instant, then collapse in a heap at the bottom of the nest. When I cropped this photo, I noticed that the one chick has its eye slitted open just a peek... :-)

Mama sure scolded while I was trying to get the above photo, but I think she is getting more used to us. She doesn't always fly off the nest now when we go down the stairs, and she actually let me stick the camera nearly in her face to get this photo (I think she realized I might be able to see her and decided to freeze in place rather than to flee). Isn't she lovely??

Very nice photos! Did you try to set out any worms?

What happened to the third egg?

The third egg is still in there, as far as I know. We put out a little dish with some raisens and a piece of strawberry, and my nephew added several worms to it as we were gardening.... but I rescued the worms after a few hours when it was obvious that she hadn't figured out what the dish was about yet, figured they should go back into the garden while they still had some wriggle left.

Disaster! The nest got knocked down in the night. We've been working with them since 9... I think they'll be OK, but please cross your fingers that the parents return... they are too young to make it with hand rearing, I'm pretty sure...

more later....

HELP... Does anybody know if it's a good idea or not to put a little antibiotic ointment on a young hatchling? The one who is not doing so well has a couple of small scrapes along the outer edge of his wing...

OK, to elaborate on the above report...

We tied the nest itself into a cut-down cardboard box, then lashed the box back into the rose, securing it well to the trellis. As you can imagine, this took some doing, LOL.

I think the biggest problem with the hatchlings was that they were cold... they looked barely alive when I first picked them up, and they were swarming with ants. We got them warmed up, and I was very glad to note that they didn't seem dehydrated (little pinch of skin test was OK, skin elasticity was normal)... I had visions of forcing liquids with an eyedropper, which I've done with other birds, but never ones so young.

They look much better now, and one is eating with a good appetite (squashed worm and strawberry, yum), but I had to force a bit of food into the smaller one. Hopefully he will perk up now. They have been back in their nest for nearly 2 hours now, and there is still no sign of the parents. There are so many robins in our yard that I have no idea if they are still in the area. I'm hoping that by feeding them, the babies will recover enough to start chirping a little and get their parents' attention.

I've got a few pics, but no time to download now... just wanted to post an update.

THE PARENTS ARE BACK!!!

*whew!*

I left them on their own for more than about an hour since I saw a couple of robins nearby that I thought might be the parents... didn't want to spook them by messing about, and I figured the babies had a few good meals from this morning. I managed to find a few more worms (where are they when you need them?? usually I find one with each turn of the shovel) and fixed another dish of minced worm and strawberry, and I went outside to give them a snack. Mama robin was in the nest with them, and she set up her usual fuss when I peeked at the babies, so I think all is well. The little one still doesn't look good, but hopefully will recover from its nighttime ordeal.

Another DGer advised me against using the antibiotic ointment, so I'll skip it. The scrapes seemed pretty minor, but I was just checking to make sure there wasn't something else I could be doing.

A wave of relief has swept over me. I always panic under stress when the concern is something that is alive. Really glad momma came back.

Lady luck shined on you when she showed up to take over. You would have had bags under your eyes for sure trying to keep up with feeding them every 15 minutes that's for sure.

Nice story ~ I'm glad you were successfull in fixing the fallen nest :)
We have a robin nesting now in our fuschia hanging basket on the front porch...I never thought about taking a photo of the nest or eggs inside...maybe I'll try to later today when I go out to water it.

Successful in fixing the nest, yes, but it's with a heavy heart that I report that yesterday morning when I went out to see how they were doing, I found that both babies had died during the night. Perhaps the parents knew what the score was when they initially abandoned the babies after their fall... the nest was a good 5 ft. off the ground, and I wonder if there weren't injuries that I couldn't see. I buried them out in the garden before my nephew woke up. He didn't think to check the nest, but he did ask later that morning when we were out in the garden if maybe we should dig some more worms... I punted... I just said, "No, that's OK.. they don't need us any longer."

I know you can't win them all, especially with such young nestings, but I get attached pretty quickly to any baby critters, especially after trying to save them!

Wind, I'd love to see photos of your robins -- especially since I don't have mine to watch anymore. There are lots of other birds nesting in our yard, but none are in good locations for picture taking.

You did your best. Not too many people would have taken the time to rig something to keep the nest in place and even fewer people would have been out there mushing baby food with a main ingredient of worms. We all get attached. It's unavoidable.

We had some pretty high winds last night and some torrential rains. I'm pretty sure we got more than 6" of rain overnight. I talked to my girlfriend this morning and she had a robin's nest that was blown right out of her tree and up against the side of her garage. She put it back up and stuck the babies back in and is drinking her coffee while watching out her kitchen window and praying momma comes back. She has a lot of stray cats in her area and said that all three babies were accounted for. I didn't want to ask anymore. Here's hoping the grass in her yard cushioned their fall a little bit.

Wow, that's "torrential rain" indeed. I hope your friend's baby robins are OK... the main issue with "my" nestlings seemed to be the cold from lying on the ground all night, and they looked much better & more active once I warmed them up. But if these little ones are older and had some actual feathers, that might not be as much of a concern -- especially on a warm day like this (are you getting some of this summer heat too today?).

I'm sorry to hear they didn't make it. geez birds sure have a tough time surviving it seems. I hope ours make it. I'm worried about the surrounding neighbors' properties when the fledglings start hopping around on the ground. They all have outdoor cats. We have 3 cats but we keep them in and they are all perfectly spoiled rotten and love bird and chipmunk watching from the windows!....I did photo the nest and it looks just like yours! 3 blue eggs :)

Oh, how perfectly beautiful!

Thanks. :-)

I had a problem with stray cats last year. I put up an electric shock fence around the entire base of the tree they were in. When they fledged, I ended up with baby robins all over the place and one was down in a very deep window well. Ugh. I try my best to trap the stray and feral cats but some of the ferals are trap savy and go on to reproduce while new strays are dumped in the area. Then there are still the people who let their cats roam. Sad.

Hi, I heard a bird cry and it was the mom robin standing over the nest. I can't be sure but it sounded like in the distance a similar bird cry was given in return to her call. I thought I bet her eggs are hatching. I went outside and slowly approached ~ she looked right at me and lowered her head into what I interpreted as a mean hawk like look and did not fly away. I took a picture of her as close as she would let me get. Then she flew off and I quickly took a picture from a stepping stool but my aim with the camera was terrible and it is not the greatest. Here is what could get. I'll try again when she lets me :)

proud mom

LOL at your robin's "mean hawk like look" -- I know just the expression you mean, crest fluffed, neck arched... quite intimidating, I'm sure!

That's a wonderful photo!!

Hi again :)
Day 2 and the male robin is now staying very close. I tried a few times to take a photo but my timing was off ~ I didn't want to disturb them. Finally after lunch when I went to water the second basket she flew off and I quickly got a few photos. There are definately two hatched. They really look fetal and embryonic like. I imagined baby robins coming out hungry ready to be fed. It looks like their eyes are not even open yet. Also, there is no sign of the shells.

same photo up close

Check out this FAQ I found entitled "Why are baby robins ugly at first?" http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/robin/FAQBabies.html

Those are fabulous photos! I don't think their eyes will be open much until the 5th or 6th day, but then they will really start growing fast. I believe they fledge just a couple of weeks after hatching.

Two down! One to go! Great photos!

I can't believe you sent that link....I too discovered it, yesterday in fact, and added it to my garden journal notes!!! I found it helpful and interesting too :)
As for the robin activity around: I've noticed them being a bit agressive. This morning a few morning doves strolled by and were shooed off by "both" robins and the robins seem to have made claim on two dog water bowls around the corner of the house! so funny
...no new photos yet...

the last egg hatched :)

Woohoooo! We watched our third egg closely, but no hatch... and when the nest fell, the egg broke, and I could tell that it had simply been infertile.

What a great little trio!