Wednesday, August 5, 2009

An Empty Nest

After 4 weeks of watching mama robin incubate her beautiful blue eggs and then care for her adorable fluffy babies the nest is finally empty.

(Fledged - August 1, 2009)

I watched the babies fly out the day they fledged. At first the brave one tested one wing outside of the nest.



Then it hopped onto a branch and just wobbled a bit.



Finally it took flight for a very short distance as mama bird waited for it to land on the ground. Then it's sibling made the leap. Finally the 2 of them (one egg sadly never hatched) hopped under the protective shelter of a conifer where mama was waiting. They seemed far too young to my inexperienced eyes for them to leave the nest, but it was getting crowded in there as they grew. Of course mama will continue to watch them, guide them, feed them, and care for them until they are much older but all of that will take place away from the nest.

I must admit I'm sad to see them go, but happy they are starting a life of their own. I used to talk to them every day when I went out the back door to water the flowers and they always stared at me with those big beautiful innocent eyes.


(Eggs laid July 6, 2009)



(2 days after hatching - July 22, 2009)



(7 days after hatching - July 27, 2009)



(10 days after hatching - July 30, 2009 - not quite ready to leave the nest, but almost)


And so life goes on.... another miracle has unfolded before me.

22 comments:

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

Not many has this chance ... to see them hatching and in the end make the final leap. Nice experience and thanks for sharing.
~bangchik

tina said...

A perfect ending to the start of these lives. They will be fine and come back to your garden each year now.

sweetbay said...

A wonderful post, and beautiful robin babies!

Anonymous said...

Such a blessing to get to watch these babies so closely. Great photos you have shared.

Anonymous said...

I love this! It is bittersweet, isn't it? Happy to see them healthy and charting a course for adulthood but sad to see them leave so soon. Sounds like I'm describing parenthood.

You know, we've had birds come back and reuse their nest. Maybe, just maybe...

the inadvertent farmer said...

What an amazing photo series, what a blessing for you to watch it all unfold! Thanks for sharing...new and enjoying your blog! Kim

Carol said...

Love this post! I understand how you can be sad to see the nest empty... it is so sweet for us to have these little creatures to speak with while in the garden. Most likely they will be back to raise their own young. Great photos! Too bad about your bee balm... hopefully it will come back. Slugs are such gluttons!

Carrie said...

Utterly fabulous! They are adorable, long may they hop about your garden learning the ways of the world. It was a joy to watch them on the blog, I can't imagine what it was like for you. Life can be truly awe inspiring, and things like that go on all the time!! So few get to see it, lucky you/ lucky us x

Stacey said...

I'm so glad you got to watch them take off! I got to watch some in my yard this year too. It was pretty much a one day process and then they were gone. Had me glued to the window all day. You got some fabulous pictures.

Rose said...

How sweet! I enjoyed seeing their life cycle here. So glad they all made it safely through the next part of their adventure. I just noticed an empty nest on the ground here this morning; I do hope it was simply one no longer in use.

Enjoyed your post of Fenway Park. I'm a die-hard Cubs fan, so I do have a soft spot for the Red Sox and another great historic park. Of course, the Red Sox HAVE won a World Series in the last 100 years...I think it's about our turn:)

D said...

The beautiful miracle of life! always leaves me rather speechless.

Layanee said...

They grow up so fast! LOL :) I wonder how long a robin lives? Hmmmm....

Cathy S. said...

Amazing on how fast they grow, but I love to watch. Great photos!

-Cathy

Unknown said...

What beautiful pictures. Isn't it amazing how Robins can cram into those little nests after they get so big. I wondered about our 3 little (big) ones and how uncomfortable they must be just before leaving the nest. You really got to watch yours because of where they were - ours were around the corner of the house and clear up on the top of Bob's ladder so I couldn't get great pics like you did.

Wonderful post!

Tootsie said...

I just watched the same thing! It is kinda sad when they leave. I spent a lot of time guarding that nest from the stray cat that hangs out in my alley!

Ashley said...

What an amazing thing to see. It made my morning to read about it and see your pictures. Thanks for sharing!

Darla said...

It's just so cool to witness that isn't it?

Toni said...

What a treat! Boy those eggs are vibrant blue!

June said...

What a great view you had, Jackie! And you made the most of it. My two daughters are going to LOVE seeing these photos.

An owl attacked our tree swallows' nest before the babies could fly. It was terribly sad for all of us. So it's especially nice to see a happy ending at your place.

Kathleen said...

How wonderful that you were privileged to watch the whole process Jackie. You have some great photos from it too. I've had plenty of robins nest in my yard but never where I could photograph it. It does seem "lonely" after the babies leave. I remember thinking how quiet the yard seemed without them. I hope you continue to see them around!

JOHN SHORTLAND, Cotswold Hills, England. said...

A great series of photos. American robins look so different to our English ones. I shall keep on visiting here! If you have time, drop by my blog for lots of chat about English nature and gardening! Johnson

Wendy said...

What an adorable post.
Thank you for sharing.
Wx