Springtime Delight

Hello my friends! After a long absence spent wandering here and there in the electronic ether and wiling away many enjoyable hours at a few special places, I finally have something that I would very much like to share with you here. It is springtime in Indiana, and with the spring comes all sorts of new, interesting, and wonderful life. Near where I live is a wall with a decorative wreath that has become a favorite place for birds to build nests. Almost every year, some sort of bird constructs a nest and raises a few chicks. In past years, I have taken pictures of Robins (Look Here and Here) and Doves (Look Here) that nested there. This year Robins have once again staked out the wreath, built a very fine nest, and laid some very attractive blue eggs. :)

I first noticed nest building activity around the first day of May. Within a few days, a very well constructed nest was completed. I noticed the first egg on May 5th. The next day, there were two eggs. The day after that, there were four eggs!

For my first picture, I am very pleased to present the nest with four beautiful blue eggs, taken on May 7th.



In the second picture is the mother Robin who is not at all happy that I am looking in on her nest! When I approach the nest, she flies up to the nearby roof and squawks at me very loudly and angrily. She walks along the roof and flaps her wings to try and distract me away from her nest. She is a very good mother trying her best to protect her eggs! I took this picture on May 15. On that day, none of the eggs had yet hatched.



Finally, twelve days after the first egg was laid, the first chick hatched. When I pointed my camera into the nest, the little baby reached up with its mouth wide open begging to be fed. However, a few seconds later when I took the picture, the tiny chick leaned over and seemed to fall asleep. In this picture, the back of its head is to the right. I have really zoomed in on this image to show the chick in detail. The eggs are really quite small, with a length a bit less than one inch. I took this picture on May 17.



The next day, I checked the nest again and there were two chicks. Here one is begging for food while the other is resting. I am guessing that the resting chick was born that day. If you look at their eyes, you will see that they are not open. This is because their eyes are not fully developed when the chicks first hatch. They are blind, helpless, and completely dependent on their parents for care and feeding.



As I have been watching the nest, I have sometimes seen two Robins together on the roof near the nest. I am sure that they are the mother and father. I don't know if they are taking turns sitting on the nest to keep the eggs and chicks warm, but that is common in some species of birds. It is also common in some species for both parents to take turns foraging for food and feeding the chicks. I should read up on Robins to see if this is the case.

I hope you have enjoyed the pictures. I will continue to watch the nest and take more photos. I will update with a new post soon with more pictures. Thanks for visiting! :)