Robin’s Nest Revisited

(Note: This was begun Thursday, June 13 and additional information was added on days following.)

Last Wednesday (June 5), as I exited the front door, I noticed activity atop the old Robin’s nest on our front porch.

A female Robin was placing small sticks in the old nest.

Upon closer inspection, I found that she had built upon the old one.

I watched as three times she left the nest and returned with small twigs in her mouth.  Each twig was placed just so and then she settled her body into the nest…and wiggled!

I’ll admit, I was surprised.  And, I was glad I’d not torn out the old nest that rested between the gutter and front porch post.

Was it the same Robin that raised a clutch of eggs earlier this Spring?  I have no idea.

Will she return to nest here again?

I don’t know.

And, I’ve not seen the Robin since.

Each day, this past week, I’ve watched and waited for her appearance. Perhaps she slips in when I’m not home, or not watching.

Perhaps she decided on a safer, more secluded spot to raise her babies.

Perhaps the 7 ft tall potted house plant I recently placed beside the post, directly under the nest, scared her. It scared me this morning when I went out to water potted plants on the porch.  It has grown long serpentine stems that wave about in the breeze –  somewhat like a snake whipping about when climbing as it looks for a secure “hand hold” as it slithers upward.

(I pause here to go outside and break off the long snake-like stems.)

The nest looks perfectly formed – the nest-builder, a pro.

I hope she deems the nest safe and returns to raise a family.

Of course, it’s possible that she’s already laid eggs and the warm temperatures (mid 90’s) don’t require her constant attention to the eggs.

Time will tell, as time always does.

(An hour has passed since the previous was penned. Wind blew the huge houseplant off the porch – twice. The second time it blew off, I left it where it landed – heavy pot on the ground, the plant leaning up against the edge of the porch.)

Friday morning, June 14 – I looked out and saw the Robin sitting in the nest!  What a surprise!

Several checks over the past two hours reveal she’s not moved from her position.  Does that mean she is incubating eggs? If so, I hope they all survive and the snake like whipping stems on the plant didn’t keep her from eggs she had already laid.

It’s odd that the potted plant twice blew off the porch in the light breeze we had yesterday. It had weathered strong winds/storms in the past two weeks it has spent tied to the post of the porch.

Yes, tied.

And, add to that the fact that the pot the plant is in weighs more than I can lift (and I can lift a lot) or easily push across the porch…and that the morning after the plant falls off the porch, the bird returns and sits on the nest for what I’m certain is the first time in a week.

Like I said…it’s odd.

Was there a Providential Hand in the breeze yesterday?

(Two hours after this was written, four hours after first noticing her on the nest, I looked out and saw the nest vacant. I went out to move the plant to the other side of the porch using a hand truck.  After loading the pot onto the base of the handtruck, I leaned it backward and took the weight of the plant upon myself as I began to back away from the porch. As I did so, the plant spun around as its weight shifted and a long stem, that I had somehow missed, whipped around and smacked against the extended elbow of the down spout – right beside the nest.  The Robin had returned and stood on the edge of the nest, unknown to me, and the stem scared her away.  As I play the brief scene over and over in my mind, I wonder if the stem hit her as well as the gutter.)

Saturday morning, June 15 – the Robin has not returned to the nest.  At 7:30 this morning I stood at the window and watched a Robin alight on the cable TV wire that runs to our house within 4 feet of the nest. It looked at the nest and then flew into a tree across the street.  Was it the Robin that built the nest?  I’ve no idea.

All I know is that my heart broke again, as it did yesterday when I scared her away.

I’ve not yet looked into the nest to see if there are any pale blue eggs that languish for lack of their warm mother’s body.  I can’t bring myself to do so – not yet.

(8:59 a.m. – She’s on the nest!  For the first time since yesterday morning, she sits on the nest!  My heart soars!)

Monday, June 17 – The Robin remained on the nest most of Saturday, leaving to hunt for food and quickly returning.  She was upon it Saturday as daylight faded, and upon it still Sunday morning.

Today as the sun rises, she sits on the nest – apparently content and relaxed as she looks out on the world below her.

Tuesday, June 18 – Rain fell all night and this morning it’s cool and foggy.

The Robin was standing on the edge of the nest when I looked out my living room window to check on her.  As I watched,she leaned into the nest and moved something around.  Perhaps she turned the eggs – I don’t know.  She then settled herself into the nest oblivious to my watching eyes.

Does she have eggs?  It appears so!

How many?  I’ve no idea.

Are they viable?  Time will tell.

Will I keep you updated?  You betcha!