Rockin’ Robins

In mid-May, we were surprised to find a robin building a nest on top of our deck lights under the awning. John has named the robin Mrs. Robinson, but I call her Mama Bird.

Nest building got quite messy with grass strewn on the deck. During this phase, Mama Bird threw some decomposing leaf muck from the gutter at Adelaide when Macalester gets barky. Mama Bird is not fond of the dogs, but takes out all her aggression on poor Adelaide, who is minding her own business. After the latest bird dive-bombing, it’s a wonder Adelaide hasn’t developed a complex.

The male robin, Deadbeat Dad, didn’t show up, until shortly before the eggs started to hatch. He has now attacked me and Macalester. But in the last couple of days he’s been a fan of the water I’ve left out for them.

It’s been extremely hot here, in the mid to upper 90s (34 to 37 Celsius). We had worried that the eggs may have become hard boiled during the heat. We’re lucky not to have had any terrible storms, as usually we roll up the awning so it doesn’t get damaged. I think I have convinced John that if we do have bad weather, the awning stays up to protect the nest.

On Sunday, I thought I heard a small peep when a parent returned to the nest. Yesterday, I saw a tiny bill, again when a parent was at the nest. Today, I managed to capture picture of the babies being fed. I can see there are two, and I’m assuming that’s all. I never got a picture of inside of the nest because I couldn’t get my selfie stick to work. And I was getting the evil eye from a bird.

According to what I’ve read, I think we’ve just got a little more than a week before the babies leave the nest. I’ve been taking photos with my cell phone (Samsung S8). Tonight, I’m going to try to get some photos with my DSLR and my big lens. This is going to be almost as fun as shooting at football games.