On Saturday (or so) the first robin hatched (May 7). I saw the mother come back with some kind of worm or bug in her mouth. She didn’t seem sure what to do with it. When she left again I got out the ladder and climbed up to take a look and could see why. There was a tiny fuzzy blob in there that seemed barely able to keep breathing, let alone ingest a worm. Three of the eggs were still unhatched so I thought this one must have just come a little early or been the first egg laid.
On Monday (May 9) I took another look and the baby had gotten a lot bigger with an obvious bird shape and prominent beak. But the other eggs were still unhatched so those may not make it. Even if they do, their older sibling may just eat them or kick them out. So I don’t have my hopes up.
As I was up there I looked around to see if I could see the mother and I did see a robin on a branch not far away. I went back down, but she didn’t come back right away. A few minutes later I took another look and she was back standing on the edge of the nest. There was a beak sticking straight up from the nest to greet her.
Taken on May 15 a few days before flying away. The feathers are all in place. I don’t see how this bird could grow that fast because by the 19th the bird was gone. It could be that it was born earlier than I thought.
The baby bird must have flown off. No drama. I got home yesterday and the mother wasn’t on the nest. That’s not all that surprising, but then she wasn’t on the nest the rest of the day. I finally checked the nest this morning and nobody was home. Just the three unfertile eggs and the nest. I took the nest down since I didn’t want it causing problems with the light fixture it was built on.
I was expecting it to be a little longer, but because the mother only had the one mouth to feed, I would think it grew faster than normal.
Later on I read that robins will sometime re-use their nest the same year, so I took the bad eggs out and put the nest back. I kind of doubt it will get re-used though. I’ll leave it for a little while and see.