EXTRA!

Here is the Video of the chick I promised you. Sorry it was so late. (:>)=

Empty nest......WHHHHHAAAAA!!!!!

Today the nest was empty. "Sigh." I really can't believe they are flying already. Well, to bid them a happy farewell, here is a poem:

The nest today.

The Empty Nest
There in a high branch of a proud old tree,
Lay a nest of babies which no one could see.
Beside the nest, stood Mother, with loving heart,And Father looking on, guarding as from the start.
      The babies were young and filled with delight,
The ways of the world were beyond their sight.
      They were wanting to try their wings of gold,
And enter the new world, ever so bold.
Their parents were hesitant, all so knowing,
Their babies had not finished growing.  But knowing they needed that freedom,
Were willing to let the babies leave them. 

     The first little bird, so eager his wings,
Thoughts of the new world, losing his strings, He jumped on the side of the nest so fast,
And flew into the air, was free at last.

     The next little bird, so timid, so shy, He wanted to go but not a goodbye, He timidly went to the side of the nest, And flew to the next branch, then passed his test. 

     The last little bird, the last of the three, Looked round at her parents, then forward to see,
The new world was opened for her to reach, By trying her wings, trying what they did teach. The wind got under the wings of the last, And she flew through the air, into the world so vast,
Leaving the only home that she had known, To go into world, the breaking of dawn. 

     The parents looked on as all of the three, Found love and happiness and family. 

They were proud of the choices that were made, But their love for their babies never did fade.
The empty nest will always be there,But visited with love and care,
The empty nest will be a guiding light, A home for hope and stars so bright.

~Donna O'Briant~

Fly away!

Cuddly

I wasn't at the house today so my Grandma took the pictures for me. This is what she said:

"Today is Thursday,When I went into the clubhouse today Em,  The 3 birds were all sitting up nice and tall.  I took several pic's at a distance, but when I came up closer to them to take some pictures.....guess what happened??Two of them just got scared and flew right out of the nest.....one stayed hunched down in the nest.Boy, did that start a panic attack with the momma and daddy....they were hollering at me big time.  I don't know where the baby birds went though.  I decided to leave them alone and get calmed down. Before leaving I went out to peek in the nest to see if they came back,one was still sitting in the nest, but other two were gone.So I guess that you will not get to see them when you come home, they are already flying the coop.Sorry about that.It was amazing to see how fast they were growing, each day was a huge change....then to see the fly out of the nent today...Wow!"

 It's so sad! That I had to be gone. But I'm glad they have parents to watch out for them. (:>)=

Whhaa!

Hello!

 One day they're Babies and the next, (gulp,) they're gonna fly!

Day 29 since the nest was ound

Day 29 since the nest was found and can you believe how fast they're growing? Look how crowded they are! Soon they will be flying!!! WHHHHAAAAA!!!! I'm not ready for this!

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They grow up so FAST!

They're getting big!

Sorry I didn't get pictures up yesterday. The camera wasn't available. :) It is unbelievable how fast the babies grow over just one day. One day they have just fuzz on them and the next they have pin feathers coming in! They grow up so fast!

Baby Birds

Proud Parent

Growing up!

I walked into the clubhouse today and the mother was standing on the nest with a worm in her mouth. I wish I could have got a picture of that. :) I can't believe that they're growing up so fast! Before you know it they'll be fledgling!!! Whaaa! Anyways, here are the pics.

Number three!!

Baby number three!!! It been a great experience to watch!!

Number two!

We have our number two!!! I had the wonderful experience of watching the baby hatch! I can't write much right now but I will post the video tomorrow! (:>)=

Number One!!!!!

We have our first baby!!! I was at work today and didn't get home six. That's when I saw this Cutee! I can coo softly to him and he will lift his head up, probably expecting to be fed. I could already see the egg starting to crack a little on the outside so our second baby will be hatching tomorrow. I'm going to get up early and see if I can catch it hatching. I've been thinking; We need to name these birdies. So comment on this post with your suggestion, PLEASE!! I finally got a picture of Momma bird. She actually let me get close, (7 feet away,) and sat there for about twenty seconds before flying away. :) Is she getting used to me? I hope so. ...P.S. If there is any specific pose that you would like me to photograph, just let me know. :)

Momma Bird

Waiting awile.......again

Well, as you've probably guessed, the robin never lay a fourth egg. :( And since the eggs don't move there's not much to talk about. And I still haven't been able to catch the mom on the nest. Today I'm gonna give some facts about Robins, FYI.
Some facts about robins:
Common Name: American robin
Scientific Name: Turdus migratorius
Order PASSERIFORMES - Family TURDIDAE
Society: In summer, females sleep on the nests and males congregate in roosts. As young robins become independent, they join the males in the roost. Female adults go to the roosts only after they have finished nesting.
Nesting: An American Robin can produce three successful broods in one year. On average, though, only 40 percent of nests successfully produce young.
Life-time: About half of the robins alive in any year will make it to the next. Despite the fact that a blessed robin can live to be 14 years old, the entire population turns over on average every six years.
Song: The robin is one of the first birds to sing in the morning and is one of the last to be heard at night. The male is most vocal, usually singing from high points in the morning and during courtship. The robin is one of the few birds to sing throughout the winter.
»listen to robin's songs.
Diet: Though we think of robins as eating mainly earthworms, in fact earthworms and other invertebrates make up about 40 percent of its diet. Most of their food is fruit. They find earthworms by sight rather than by sound.They eat invertebrates mainly in the spring, summer and early morning, but rely on fruit later in the day, in the fall and winter. Their preferred fruits are grapes, cherries, tomatoes, pokeberries, mistletoe berries, rowan berries and in southern states, the fruits of the Sabal Palm. Robins also eat beetles, grasshoppers and other insects.
Chicks: The chicks are fed by both parents. They eat about 35 to 40 meals a day. The parents keep the nests clean by carrying away or eating the chicks' fecal sacs.
I'll post again on Saturday. Until then...(:>)=
P.S. 7-8 days till first egg hatches!!

Third times a charm

Yay!!! We have our third egg! Don't they look charming and quaint, like one would imaigine a robins nest to look? I was a little scared because the Mother hadn't lay her egg yet and it was one o'clock already. ( Robins usually lay their eggs around mid morning.)  I'm still trying to get a picture of the mom on the nest. It seams like shes always watching, and when she sees you she's gone. Grrrr! Well, after tomorrow updates are gonna be a bit slow. Mostly because there's really not much to talk about. I mean, eggs don't move.:)Well, let's see if the Momma gives us another egg.                                                       

Seeing double

We have our second egg!!! The two look almost identical except for that white mark on the first one. Ohhhhhh, I can't wait to see if there will be another!!! Last year a Robin built a nest in a basket on a shelf in our clubhouse. The had nest already held three or four eggs in it for a while, when a tree fell in our neighbors yard, hitting the basket.( The back of our clubhouse still doesn't have a wall.) When I arrived at the seen, there was a upside-down nest lying on the floor with a basket a couple feet away, no eggs. I don't know what happened to them, if the mother was able to move them or if an animal got them. Anyways, I put then nest,in it's basket of course, back on the shelf. And a couple months later, A mother Robin appeared. ( Most likely the same one.) She lay to eggs. Probably only that amount because she had lay earlier in the season. ( It's not uncommon for robins to rear two clutches.) Well, one of the eggs never hatched. It was Most likely in fertile. But the one that did hatch, I took pictures of every day. The picture you see at the top of my page is of that robin. It was sad to let him go, but I'm egg-cited to have that chance again. So until tomorrow, (and hopefully ANOTHER egg,) I'll be seeing you my friend.   (:>)=    ( My version of a birdie.)

Egg-citement!!!

Well, after five days of waiting, we FINALLY have a egg!!!! I checked the nest at around nine this morning, no egg. But I read that robins usually lay there eggs mid morning. Tonight at six I was outside and decided to check on it. So I went into the clubhouse, with my brother in tow,  and low and behold- an egg!!! Blue and shiny as can be! So, we have our egg, and over the next few days, its possible for us to get up to three more. As you can see from the pictures, there's just a little white on it. I must admit, I was getting a little worried that our mother  might have abandoned the nest, because of the lack of egg-tivity. Tomorrow will be a new day, and most likely, a new egg. I've still to catch the mother, but with the new egg, you never know.I just can't get over all this EGG-citement!

Waiting a while

Well, nothing has changed much in the nest, so I'm just gonna show you the nest farther away. The first pic shows the nest's location: atop a window sill in out club house. Its literately only tree feet from the nest that was built last year. The second pic is showing the size of the nest. You can see the materials used to make it: Grass, mud, and some small pieces of a plastic tarp. So, I just thought y'all might want to see that. Hopefully we'll have some activity today or tomorrow.

Nest in the nook

So, last year I had the amazing experience of watching a baby robin grow up, right in my own club house. I took pictures of him every day, charting his growth. I'm thrilled to announce that I have discovered a new nest just a few feet from last years location, on a window ledge. The only difference is that this year I have caught the robin in the act of making her nest, and that it's possibly a different robin. Well, this blog for the next couple of months will be charting the nest and the hatching and rearing of the baby chicks in pictures. The first one is of the nest as of yesterday, when I discovered it. Notice the wet mud and the green blade of grass, indicating that  it is not a nest from last year. The second picture is of the nest as of today. Notice how the mud has been covered with a soft layer of both dry and green grass. I'm so excited for whats to come!