A Peep in the Nest: And So it Goes


                I was very excited as this week began. Do remember that robin’s nest I’ve been watching from the office window? Well, this is the week for them to hatch. It’s a 12 to 14 day nesting period, and Mama Bird had been on the nest about that long. This should make for some great photos! I couldn’t wait!

                Monday: I took a look at the nest at the earliest opportunity, and it was alive with activity! Mama was still right there where she’s been for days. I’ve even seen Daddy around a few times. But this was the first time I actually saw them there together! That’s a change! We must be getting closer to hatching time. I joked to myself that they must be at the nest together because they’re discussing names!

                A couple of times I saw Mama get up and, standing on the edge of the nest, she’d lean far in and vibrate rapidly. Turning the eggs, I suppose. But she was vibrating pretty quickly. Do they turn the eggs that fast? Maybe she was helping one hatch. Or cleaning the nest. The important thing is, she’s clearly busy doing something and her behavior is changing. Does that mean we’re getting close! This is so exciting!


                Tuesday: I was away from the office all day.

                Wednesday: Okay. We’re three days into the week. Surely at least one has hatched by now. I’ve read that the eggs hatch at a rate of one per day in the order in which they were laid. But I’d been away a day, so maybe I’d see two little beaks poking out of the nest? I can’t wait to find out!

                But when I get to the window, there’s nothing. No Mama. No Daddy. Just an empty nest.

                Does that mean the babies have started hatching and Mama’s gone to get them some food? Yes that must be it. Soon I’ll be able to watch her feed them. She’ll probably be back any minute, now, as they don’t usually leave the nestlings for too long.

                But she didn’t show up. Well, maybe later today. I’ll come back and check again.

                Wednesday wore on and turned into Thursday. By the end of today, I finally had to accept what I was hoping wasn’t true.

                Something has gone horribly wrong. There are no chicks and Mama and Daddy won’t be back.

                There are a number of things that could have caused this. The eggs might have been taken by predators. We have quite a number of crows and magpies in the area, and they’re said to love robin eggs for a snack. Then there’s pesticides. In recent years, scientists have observed songbird populations fall as a result of the many, many pesticides we insist on throwing on our crops. The bees have been having the same problem. We’re not near any farms, around here, but when the stuff gets in the environment, it gets around.

                Well, we’ll never know for sure what happened, and the nest is at the wrong angle for me to see if there’s anything in it. However, it seems to be falling away already.

                It’s sad, and I’m quite disappointed, but it’s not as uncommon as you might think.  Some sources say robins have a high as an 80% mortality rate. That means only 20% of eggs laid ever survive to become adult birds.

                But take heart. They also say that robins will lay sometimes two or three clutches in a year. Mama and Daddy may be out there somewhere putting together their new nursery right this very minute. And they may not even be that far away.

                Today, at day’s end, as I left the office to head out, I had to cross the courtyard to get to where I was headed. As I pushed the door open and stepped into the warm sun, I could hear the robin’s song somewhere in the trees high above.


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