Baby Robins

This story begins sometime in late May. Every morning, I would wake up, get ready for work, pack my lunch and head to my car, which is parked in the driveway next to a big hedge. Every morning, a bird would fly out of the bush, freaked out by my presence, and I would be just as freaked out.

Tired of being assaulted by the bird, I decided I wanted to knock the nest out. I figured it would be good for the bird too, seeing as she was having daily heart attacks anytime I walked by. Well, the nest had to stay because guess what? There were two newly hatched baby birds and an egg hanging out in there.

So, instead of being cranky about Mama Robin flying out every morning, I took this as an opportunity to get really gung-ho about nature and the circle of life and I started photographing the baby birds whenever I get a chance (re: when Mama's not home).

I can't remember if I mentioned this here, but my friend H sent me a link to a live feed webcam of baby eagles earlier in the spring. Eventually, the webcam got pooped on and then flipped upside down and I went into baby bird withdrawal so this has been a nice pick-me-up.

I've done my best to note the dates of each photo just so you have an idea of the growth progression. According to Wikipedia, the eggs are incubated for two weeks and then once they're hatched, the babies leave the nest another two weeks later, which I find fascinating because that's such a short time to grow up and learn to fly.

The first shots I took of the babies was on 30 June. I'd say they're maybe 5 days old here, judging by the comparison of the hatchlings and the egg. And I'm sad to say that the third egg never hatched, but I'm kind of glad because I got to photograph it and it's a gorgeous color.

The next set of photos were taken on 2 July, at maybe a week old. These birds grew so quickly. At this point, they were peeping rather loudly for Mum to bring them food instead of sleeping all day.

And here they are on 3 July at about 8 days old. Look at how much bigger they are and the fuzzy feathers they're starting to grow. They're also taking up a lot more space in that nest.

A video posted by ra¢h 💋 (@racheerachh) on Jul 4, 2015 at 6:59am PDT

And here they are on 5 July (10 days old), sleeping like cozy little angels and then all of a sudden, waking up and screaming for food.

The next two photos were taken on 6 July (11 days old). These babies grew so quickly. I can't imagine how they'd fit in the nest if the third egg had hatched.

And here they are on 7 July at almost 2 weeks old, which is the last day I was able to get photos of the babies.

On 8 July, the nest was empty. I guess the birds were big enough to fly. I read that even after the babies leave the nest, they follow mom around and beg for food. I looked around a bit but I have no idea where the robin family moved to so I suppose I'll have to wait until next year to see if anyone comes back to this hedge!

I miss you, baby robins! Have a great life!

xoxo.