Baby blackbirds

You might remember in late June I mentioned a pair of blackbirds was nesting nearby.

The nest had four eggs, as well as one parasitical egg from a cowbird. (I froze this egg overnight and re-inserted it into the nest, as I learned simply removing the egg might trigger retaliatory measures from the cowbird against the blackbird nest.)

So was the nest successful? Yes it was. (I just forgot to do a follow-up post.)

One June 26, one nestling had hatched.

By the next day, all four eggs had hatched.

Here are the nestlings on June 30.

July 7, feathering out.

By July 11, the nest was empty, with all the babies gone.

The only thing left was one lonely little cowbird egg -- and a few days later, it too was gone.

With the rampant predation of baby birds in the wild, it's always nice to see a successful nest.

Nesting robins in the barn

Lately, in an effort to discourage wandering early-morning coyote attacks on the chickens, I've taken to setting up my computer in the barn for a couple of hours when I release the birds just after sunrise. So far it's worked to thwart additional attacks. (But no opportunity for a clean shot, however; there's a reason coyotes are termed "wily.")

Setting myself up in the barn isn't quite the hardship it implies. Early mornings have always been my favorite time of day anyway, and since the weather is finally warming up, the mornings are pleasant. The air is fresh and clean. The birds are singing. The early sun shines on the budding leaves and flowers. I bring my computer speakers so I have my Baroque music quietly playing. I have hot tea. Life is good.

This early-morning time allows me to capture some nice pics of the chickens I might not otherwise get, including the obligatory "rooster on the compost pile" shots...

...though since the compost pile elevates the chickens, it also allows them to spot the coyote early, when he (or she) is slinking around the edge of the woods, casing the joint. Paying attention to their alarm clucks is important (situational awareness!).

The nice thing about camping out in the barn for couple hours each morning is the little things that take place right under my nose I might otherwise not have noticed. Case in point, the robins who are nesting under the awning.

Robins have always been among my all-time favorite birds, so it's fun to watch both parents work hard to bring food to their offspring.

Look at those gaping gullets.

But I wanted to see the babies, so I leaned a ladder against the eave.

The mother flew away in alarm and watched me suspiciously from nearby.

Nests really are amazing construction.

Here's what the hatchlings looked like on May 19:

And on May 22:

I sometimes catch the robins in moments of leisure, such as this fellow grooming himself between warbling his "teereyo" call.

Sometimes the mother dozes while waiting for the father to return with a meal.

Then when he shows up, she steps aside so he can feed the babies.

Then -- I wasn't sure I was seeing this right until I confirmed it online -- after feeding, the parents remove the babies' waste. According to Wikipedia: "Waste accumulation does not occur in the nest because adults collect and take it away. Chicks are fed, and then raise tails for elimination of waste, a solid white clump that is collected by a parent prior to flying off." I've watched this, but to be honest it looks like the parents swallow the waste globule, not fly away to dispose of it. I've seen this over and over.

This nest is located in a wonderfully sheltered spot, away from wind and rain. But we have magpies around here, famous for eating nestlings. I've seen bluebirds and robins lose their broods in the past, which is so sad. I'm hoping this family is successful in raising their babies.

Nesting robins

Of all the birds we have around here, I love robins the most.

Despite their penchant for my strawberries, I'm ridiculously fond of these sassy little thrushes.

I watched a juvenile robin in our corral early yesterday morning, just at sunrise.

Needless to say, I was pretty durned tickled to find a nest in a bush right outside the garden fence.

I found it a couple weeks ago when I was weeding in a bed too close to the bush, and the parent birds scolded me.

Alert to the happy possibility of a nest, I went searching in the only logical spot and found it.

On May 24, it had three eggs in the stunning "robin's-egg blue" color.

Shortly thereafter, it had four. I took three separate photos on three separate days and no more eggs were added, so four seems to be their full brood number.

May 31:

June 1:

June 4:

I try not to disturb the mama bird too often, but fortunately she seems to realize I mean her no harm since she doesn't hesitate to settle herself back on the nest in my presence.

The father bird, however, stays nobly protective of his mate's nest, and keeps a suspicious eye on me in the garden.

Yesterday morning I heard the raucous calls of magpies, which are common around here. Magpies eat eggs -- and baby birds. A couple years ago they decimated the nest of a pair of bluebirds we had nesting in the garden, to my dismay.

I was worried they might have found the robin's nest, so I hurried over to check. Thankfully the nest was undisturbed, and I was delighted to see one baby already hatched.

I feel very protective about this nest, and hope the robins can successfully raise their brood.