Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Baby Birds





I watched a pair of Robins build a nest in our back yard...in the plum tree, last spring. I wished I would have taken pictures of the birds building the nest...but I didn't. Once the Robin laid her three blue eggs, I began to watch the nest a little more closely...but at a distance. I didn't want to disturb or upset the sitting mother...so I wasn't able to get a picture of her sitting on her eggs. I don't have a telescopic lens on my digital camera, or I would have...it's just a simple point and shoot camera.

I took several pictures starting on the day when the third egg appeared in the nest...on April 20th. I used the pictures as Desk-Top pictures on my computer so that my family could keep up with the daily development of the baby birds without going out and disturbing them. I only took pictures when I saw the mother Robin leave her nest, and she never really seemed to consider me much of a threat...she never even watched me very closely...she just went about her business.

The last picture of the young Robins was taken on May 12th and the next day, they were gone. It was kind of sad to see them go so soon after they hatched. They grew up so fast and I was hoping they'd stay around close where I could watch them get fed on the ground...as I have in the past. But I guess the parent birds led them to a safer location because of the cats.

I can never get my pictures lined up on my posts, like I want them...just haven't learned how to do that yet. I wanted them in their proper sequence, but since they aren't I'll just give you the dates, and a brief description and let you find the picture.

April 20, the blue eggs
May 1, bald fuzzy babies
May 9, feathering
May 12, feathered and ready to leave

5 comments:

Jellyhead said...

Very sweet story and pictures!

By the way, as you've seen from my blog, I also have no idea how to get photos where I want them. It drives me crazy!

Motherkitty said...

It really doesn't matter where the pictures end up. They are all so beautiful anyway and we love looking at them.

You are so talented! Here's a little poem in honor of your piece on the robin's nest:

Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a tree;
Up went Pussycat, and down went he.
Down came Pussycat, and away Robin ran;
Said little Robin Redbreast, "Catch me if you can."

Little Robin Redbreast jumped upon a wall;
Pussycat jumped after him, and almost got a fall.
Little Robin chirped and sang, and what did Pussy say?
Pussycat said naught but "Mew," and Robin flew away.

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

MotherKitty, That's a very cute poem and very fitting to my story.

Thanks for the lovely poem... and YOU are the talented one.

Franny said...

Love the pictures! What a happy thing to see, especially during these bleak February days...

Alipurr said...

I like the layout, even if it is not what you had intended. I have a lot of trouble with picture layouts, too.