In a Robin's Nest (photos by Jon)

The work of a robin isn't done til the fledglings take off on their own. By then, parents often have another set of young ones to take care of. And I thought raising two boys was crazy! 

These first two photos were taken May 28. The babies were barely hatched. You can kind of see little open beaks in the second picture. And mom is much less harassed looking! 

 This one was taken during a very hot evening, June 1, -about the time we had some thunderstorms. Mom's panting on the nest, protecting the little ones. Her nest is high in a lilac, but fairly exposed to the elements.

 Waiting to be fed. Jon shot all of these pictures this last weekend (June 7). The babies are larger now and about ready to fledge. They can jump from the nest about 13 days after hatching. The next week is the toughest. They can't fly well, need fed by the parents, and are at their most vulnerable. I'm afraid the neighbor cats are going to enjoy fledglings in a short while. We try to chase the cats away, but 24 hours a day in 10 or 15 (til they youngsters are strong flyers) is a lot of unseen hours for neighbor cats to wander by.

 It is almost like she's teaching them how to fly, but Jon really probably just caught the mom as she was getting ready to forage some more. Baby robins eat a lot and both parents feed them. A robin can make 100 trips to the nest to feed babies each day!!

 They are very well camouflaged in this lilac nest!

I got the information on robins NOT on my favorite All About Birds site, but on one about American Robins. If you follow the link, you can find even more fun facts. Also that if one does fall from the nest, before it is ready to jump, it can be put back carefully. I didn't realise "robins identify their babies the way we humans recognize ours-by sight and sound, not by smell. So if you can safely put the babies back in the nest, go ahead!"