Eggstra! Eggstra!

On my to-do list today was to finally chronicle the happenings of the robins who set up house in our hanging Geranium basket.

It all started about the first week of June.  We watched as “mama”, as we have fondly come to call her, built her nest.  To our surprise this was the second nest of the season.  The first was in our azalea bush by the driveway.  I know eggs were laid in that nest and at least one hatched, but then all activity stopped and the nest was soon empty.  The azalea is not the safest place for a nest; not only is it low to the ground, but there are always the neighborhood cats that hang about.  So needless to say we were quite happy when our hanging geranium basket, with its birds-eye view, was chosen for a new nest.

  About a week later, there were a couple pretty blue eggs in the nest.  And then there was another!

We have kept quite a close eye on Mama and her brood.  And “papa” was never far from mama and her nest.  Every now and then, I would hear a terrible ruckus and see mama chasing off a Bluejay or another bird that got a little too close for comfort.  And if that weren’t enough, there’s been a couple of heat waves for the Robins to deal with.  There’s a reason the Geranium basket was hung in front of the house; it’s sunny and geraniums tolerate the heat well.  Not only did Mama have to use her incubating instincts, but I could also see her using some cooling ones.  During the hottest days, she would hover over her brood slowly fanning them with her tail.  

Every day since we first spotted the eggs, my daughter and I have been keeping a close eye  on the nest just waiting for signs of hatching.  I was beginning to get a little worried and after doing some homework and learning about the incubation period and searching the dates that I started taking photos . . . well, the wait was over.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY little robins.

Today was the big day for two of them.

 #1   #2

We knew the second egg was not far behind as it looked like it had a crack.  Sure enough, the next thing we saw was a little beak peeking out a little hole.  We spent much of the afternoon watching and waiting.   And so that I could tend to feeding my own brood, I gave Meghan the camera and duty of capturing everything that came next . . . and she did.   It’s now 8:00.  Mama is still tending to the two little robins, cleaning and feeding, basically doing what moms do.  Tomorrow will hopefully bring number 3 and we can’t wait!  Our next challenge . . . naming our little robins.

You can see all our robin photos here:
http://mariadreyer.zenfolio.com/p156596247#h3daf3ee7