RainyDayRobins: Nesting, Hatching, Feeding, and Fledging
...24 days of robins in the backyard!!!
At the end of May, we noticed that the wooden divider between the RainyDayGarden and our neighbor’s was literally falling apart. We planned on writing an article on the DIY repair of the divider, but when we took a closer look at it, we got side-tracked by the discovery that a robin had built a nest in the space between the boards of the decrepit divider!
Home is…wherever you decide to call home.
Most of the time, the nests we see in the RainyDayGarden are in either a tree or a hedge, and they are always well hidden (for obvious reasons), so having a nest practically at eye-level and accessible created quite the photo opportunity, which we were absolutely not going to pass up!
We know you’re there, little one, and you know we’re here…
With plenty of cover, we were did not alarm the adults with our camera setup. Coupling the D850 with the Nikkor 200-500mm lens enabled us to be further away physically, but still able to get in close photographically.
Waiting for Mother Nature to do her thing, aviarily-wise.
Nesting
Our setup let us observe the comings and goings of the adults, but in order to see what/who was in the nest, we had to stand on the bulkhead and used our iPhone to take the closeups.
“I’m very calm, but come any closer to my babies and I will absolutely peck a hole in your eye.”
Because the female was sitting on the nest, we knew there had to be something in it. We waited until she flew off to, uh, have lunch, and confirmed that the nest had an egg. After repeatedly checking it for a few days (Day 2, Day 3), we found the nest topped out with four pale blue eggs! Turns out, robins lay their eggs on separate days…which made sense as it would be hard for it to fly carrying four eggs. Very cool, this nature thing.
The American Robin equivalent of B3PO (Bingo Bango Bongo Plus One).
According to a number of birding sources, the incubation period for robins is 10-12 days, so we kept our eyes on the nest and watched for any new activity.
“You guys are the dullest humans ever. Don’t you play tennis or something? Do you HAVE to keep staring at me? It’s unseemly.”
Hatching
Sure enough, a week and a half later, the adults started making more frequent trips back and forth from the nest. Taking that as a sign, we took a peek inside the nest during one of those trips and discovered four pink hatchlings!
“Yup, we did that, we made four new robins for the yard. Dear GAWD please let them grow up fast.”
Over the course of the next week, the hatchlings went:
- from fuzzy pink blobs,
- to fuzzier bird-like blobs,
- to feathered bird-creatures.
The weirdest, coolest, thing ever.
Their growth accelerated after a week and things got crowded; the nest looked way too small for its occupants (because it was).
Feeding
With four hatchlings to feed, the adult robins were constantly on FFFs (Food Finding Forays), which gave us plenty of opportunities to observe the feeding process.
I don’t care if you all want Fruit Loops, you’re getting this worm.”
The Nikon D850 and the Nikkor 200-55mm zoom lens combo was a huge help in letting us in on the action. It enabled us to:
- get up close from far away,
- not put any stress on the adults, and
- not disturb the feeding of the young hatchlings.
“I hatched four actual birds, right? I didn’t hatch just four ravenous mouths, did I?”
It wasn’t long before all the hatchlings started to show their “dino-heritage.” Feeding time was clearly a first-come first-served thing. While everyone got fed, the biggest one always got fed first (very pushy).
Dear gawd, I’ve hatched a Mongol horde.
Fledging
With free food, on-demand delivery, and a place to stay, why would these hatchlings ever leave the nest? After watching the nest for 10 days, we were wondering the same thing!
“Me me! Me me me! Me me me me me me!!!”
Sure, the hatchings were literally on top of each other in the nest, but did we mention “free food?”
So, what would get the feathered freeloaders to strike out on their own? Another win for Mother Nature, the adults handled it perfectly.
“Marvin, did you put on some weight?”
To get the hatchlings to venture out of the nest, the adults didn’t feed them until they were hungry enough to get out of the nest and investigate why the food hadn’t arrived.
“I thought you ordered GrubHub.” “I thought YOU ordered GrubHub!” “MARVIN! WHERE’S THE GRUBHUB ORDER?”
On The Ground
Once the hatchlings had all stepped out of the nest, an adult robin swung by for one more feeding, but that was IT. No matter how much the hatchlings chirped/squawked, the parents made no further trips to the nest. However, that was not the end of it.
“Don’t try to make yourselves into an acappella group – it won’t work.”
The adults answered every hatchlings’ call for food to let them know that they were near, but if the hatchlings wanted to be fed, it had to go get it. And to “get it,” they had to jump down to the ground and go toward the parent(s) calls. Over the course of two hours, three of the four hatchlings did exactly that!
It took another two hours of chirping and answering before the smallest one finally got up enough courage (or was hungry enough) to take the leap down onto the ground.
“Mom? Dad? Stanley? Marvin? Percival? Anyone…?”
While we couldn’t see where the adult robin was, the final hatching, now fledged, clearly could, and headed toward the adult as soon as it landed on the ground.
“Wow, what is this place? There’s so much SPACE!”
The fledgling hopped purposefully for about 100 feet then stopped. Within a few seconds, the adult swooped down and rewarded the hungry fledgling with a well-earned meal 🙂
“Mummy! I’ve missed you so, so much! Now give me something to eat!”
LastThought
We learned quite a bit about:
- robin rearing behavior,
- how quickly hatchlings grow, and
- how adults create the incentives for the hatchlings to fledge.
It was all absolutely fascinating!!!
If any reader has an opportunity to follow a similar cycle from start to finish, we highly recommend taking the time to do so. It is fun, educational, and so heart-warming…especially when they get big enough to fly off on their own!!!
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