Note: Stories and photos of the first nest of the season, located in the satellite dish, will be referred to as "A" with subsequent nests following with an alphabet letter and a new page.
Nesting season is here
Last week, it occurred to me that maybe we should remove a robin's nest that had been left inside our satellite dish for a year. After reading that robins rarely reused a nest, but sometimes doves did use vacated nests, I had decided to leave the nest there, hoping that a pair doves would use it for their nestlings.Since doves have a later nesting season than robins, I kept an eye on the doves that like to hang out on our roof and checked the nest often for eggs. Maybe the doves decided the dish would be too hot for sitting on eggs in the middle of summer, because there was no sign of nesting activity after the baby robins fledged in mid May last spring.
The dish had provided me with a perfect spot for observing the beautiful blue eggs from the time they were laid until the babies poked holes in them and hatched. It was an exciting four weeks, watching the mother sitting on the nest, the babies pecking their featherless bodies out of their shells and then the feeding frenzy as both parents brought food to the nest.
The parents became so accustomed to my face and voice that they stopped squawking when I came near the nest. The four babies also seemed to recognize my face and voice, because when each of them fledged and were on the ground near the nest, they stopped long enough for me to take close-up pictures. It was fun and sad watching them try their wings. In a moment, their world had expanded from a tiny nest to a wondrous expanse of land and sky. And then they were gone.
For several weeks, I've noticed that some of the robins in the yard looked to be pairing up for the upcoming nesting season. I was hoping some of them would consider the satellite dish for a nest. Thinking that those scouting for a nesting site might think the satellite dish was already taken, we removed the leftover nest.
Boom! A few days later, signs of a new nest appeared. It's taken a few days for the nest to take form, and it looks bigger than the one from last year, with a mixture of materials that include leaves and dried grass.
This dish provides a great place for a spring nest. It doesn't get that hot, and it offers protection during spring thunderstorms.
When I checked the dish this morning, all the nesting material had been plumped down and looks ready for the first egg to be laid.
~~~B~~~
04-04-2018
04-04-2018
The nest is ready
April 7, 2018
As I watched this robin's nest come together, I noted the parents didn't seem to be in a great hurry to finish the nest.
Earlier in the week they began bringing nesting materials to the back enclosed part of the satellite dish and just dumped them there.
A few days later, the pile of leaves and grass were taking the form of a nest. By the weekend, the circular form had added a few inches of depth, providing sufficient space for the 3-5 eggs usually laid the by the mother robin.
Freezing temperatures returned for the weekend, and although both parents were frequently moving about on the ground underneath the satellite dish, there was no sign of activity inside the nest.
Apparently, the mother was waiting for warmer temperatures before laying eggs.
~~~B~~~
04-07-2018
First egg is in the nest
 |
Late this afternoon (April 11, 2018), the first egg appeared
in this robin's nest, located in a satellite dish. Robins' eggs
typically hatch in 14 days.
|
During the chilly morning hours today, I watched the robin parents scooting about on the ground near the nesting site but didn't see either of them going into the nest. Throughout the day I would occasionally pick up my binnoculars (left conveniently near a window in sight of the nest) and zoom into the nest but never saw the mama sitting there.
With tomorrow's temperature expected to rise into the mid 70s, I wondered if she would then start sitting on the nest and lay the first egg. When I returned home late this afternoon, I decided to take one last look at the nest for the day. Ahhh, it was there. One beautiful blue egg was in the nest.
From my observations of three robins' nests last year, I know that the first baby will hatch 14 days after the first egg is laid. According to literature, the babies hatch in order that the eggs are layed. With the appearance of the first egg, it's going to be an exciting four weeks watching this nest.
~~~B~~~
04-11-2018
New mama in this nest
 |
The mama robin in the new nest has a beak like the baby in
this picture. This picture was made the day this baby fledged
from the same nesting site last year.
|
This morning, I brought out my binoculars for a few looks at the nest from a bedroom window. For the first few looks, I only saw an empty nest, except for the one egg that was laid yesterday. Finally, I caught the mama in the nest. She was turned around and looking out of the nest. Sometimes, the mamas do turn around in the nest to face outward, but other times they sit on the nest in the same position they entered, with their tail feathers extending over the entrance to the nest.
With the mama looking out of the nest this morning, I got a good look at her. This was not the same mama that built a nest here last year. But there was something familiar about her. I noticed right away that she had the same beak as one of the babies that fledged from this nest last year.
That baby had a distinct beak that looked somewhat deformed. It seemed to give the baby bird a perpetual scowl. It was a broad and crooked beak that I didn't see on any of the other fledglings in the the three robins' nest I observed last year.
Seeing the mama with this beak made me wonder if she might have been one of the babies from this nest last year. The baby with this particular beak seemed to be the bossy one in the nest, so I named it Bossy. It was also the largest of the four babies and the first to fledge. It was concerning to me that this baby fledged on the 11th day, presumably three days early. But it stayed on the ground near the nest until the other babies fledged, and I watched the parents care for it, along with those still in the nest.
Tomorrow, I am going to try and get a picture of the mother on the nest and compare it to the baby from last year. That's also something I plan to research: Do robins return as adults to the site of the nests from which they fledged to build their own nests?
I checked the nest late this afternoon and early evening to see if a second egg had been laid today. There was none. Usually, an egg is laid every day until there are
3-5 eggs in the nest. Yesterday's egg was laid late in the day, so I thought that might be the pattern for this nest. It will be interesting to see how the egg-laying continues, especially since all the eggs usually hatch within 24 hours
~~~B~~~
04-12-2018
One nest, two eggs and two mamas?
 |
| This is the second mama robin seen in this nest this week. |
But what had happened to the mama who sat in the nest on Wednesday and laid the first egg? The mama with the wide and crooked beak that looked so much like a fledgling from a nest last year in the same site. Had something happened to her? Was that the reason no additional egg was laid in the nest yesterday?
 |
The first egg was laid in this nest on Wednesday,
and the second was laid on Friday of this week.
Usually, one egg is laid each day, until the nest
is complete.
|
When I went outside to take pictures of the new mama, I was surprised that she allowed me to get close to the nest and take several photos of her. This, too, reminded me of last year's nest. The mama of that nest also allowed me to get close to the nest, even after the eggs hatched.
According to literature, robins and cardinals will sometimes share a nest. During my research, I didn't find any literature about two robins sharing a nest. The coming days will reveal if two mama robins are sharing this nest or if it has been taken over by another mother robin.
Since the first egg was left unattended for most of the second day, I wonder if the baby will survive. The mama sitting on the nest Wednesday took long breaks from the nest. After seeing her on the nest early yesterday morning, I did not see her at all during the afternoon. I did check the nest several times to see if a second egg had been laid. During those checks, I did not have to wait for the mama to leave the nest, because she wasn't on it. When I did the last check, it was almost dark and a mama was on the nest, facing inward with her tailfeathers extending out of the nest.
Late this afternoon, while the mama took a break from the nest, I checked and a second egg had been laid. This new mama rarely leaves the nest, except for short breaks.
~~~B~~~
Nest has three eggs
While the sun was still shining, early this morning, I checked the eggs in the nest and found there were still just the two.
The mama with the pointed beak was still in the nest. Again, she remained still and on the nest while I snapped pictures of her. Shortly after this, the rain moved in and settled in for most of the day. Each time I looked in the direction of the nest, I saw the mama sitting on it. She took only a few breaks today.Late this afternoon, I returned to the nest while the mama was taking a break. There were three eggs in it. I'm still wondering about the viability of the first egg.
I only saw the mama off the nest twice today. She may have wanted to make sure the eggs stayed dry.
~~~B~~~
Another rainy day of nesting
At my first peek of the nest this morning, it appeared mama robin was sleeping while keeping the eggs warm. Why not? It was still raining. Maybe the sound of the rain on the satellite dish made her sleepy.And it probably gets boring, spending hours confined to a small space. I remember last year, seeing a mama robin yawn while sitting on her nest. I had no idea birds yawned.
Mama robin rarely left the nest today, taking only a few breaks. When the rain cleared in mid afternoon, I approached the nest with my camera. Again, she never moved or seemed the least bit concerned when I moved closer and snapped a couple photos.
Around 7 this evening, I returned to the nest while she was taking a break. There were still three eggs..same as yesterday... in the nest. I'm wondering if there will be more. Two of the three robins' nests I observed last year had four eggs in each nest. The third had five egg
~~~B~~~
Still three eggs in nest
 |
Mama robin did not stir or seem the least bit perturbed when
I snapped this picture today, standing just about three
feet away from her.
|
After two cold nights with temperatures below freezing, the weather returned to spring today and by the end of the day it had warmed to about 70 degrees. I don't think any of the three robins' nests I observed last year endured nights that chilly.
No more eggs have been laid in this nest since Saturday, so it seems the mama is finished and just waiting for the babies to come. I'm still wondering about the first egg laid, when the other mama was on the nest, and if it is still viable. The last time I saw her on the nest was last Thursday morning. I don't know if she was on the egg at all Thursday night, nor do I know when the second mama arrived. My first sighting of her was on Friday morning.
The first egg is due to hatch next Wednesday, April 25. Usually all the eggs hatch within a 24 hour period. Since there were two days between the laying of the first and second eggs, it will be interesting to see how that goes.
~~~B~~~
Comments