If you have been following my robin’s nest story, this is an update that I will tell you right now is not all good news, in fact there is very little good news. I just thought that I would put that out there first so that you can click away if you would like.
Here are the five healthy hatches on Thursday morning:
On Friday morning a few of the birds had their eyes open:
It was Saturday when we first noticed the falcon, or Cooper’s Hawk? I say falcon, but the truth is we are still debating which type of bird this is that is preying on the robins. We were working in the yard and the birds around started going nuts. We looked around and saw the falcon on the corner of our roof. The robins and a few blackbirds chased it off and everything calmed down.
This afternoon we were again outside when we again heard the birds and saw the falcon. My oldest child got this video of the falcon attacking the robin nest:
Here is the nest moments later:
This robin could not have been any flatter or more still. It was our guess that the falcon took one baby at this time. It is not clear what happened to the three unaccounted for birds. Sometime between Friday morning and Sunday afternoon they went missing.
Then the adult robins came back:
Half an hour later here is the nest again:
Empty. I had my Canon 50D set up during the time that the last bird went missing. My pictures do not shed any light on what happened to the baby. We also had a window open and didn’t hear anything. Did the adults relocate the last baby? At this point, that is what we suspect, so we go looking. We notice an adult bird flying low into our hedgerow and we find the surviving baby. When the adult leaves, I get a photo in the hedgerow:
I left the hedgerow and so did the robin, so I got this picture also:
I told the robin to get back into the hedgerow, but more convincing was the fact that the adult robins came back and told the baby in no uncertain terms that it was to get back into the hedgerow. So it did.
Well, I will be keeping an eye out for this little baby. Our hedgerow is about the best place it could be right now, but until it can fly, it is still pretty vulnerable. I will take pictures and write an update if I have anything further.
If you are new to this story, here are the other posts:
The story begins here and I explain how I am getting the pictures. The first update with five hatchlings is here. The second update featuring a very crowded nest is here.
Comments? Questions? feel free to leave them below. If you have a guess to what bird of prey we have in the video, feel free to say so and explain why you think so.
Where there is life, there is hope.
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I agree.
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I felt sad for the baby robin that falcon took away. But, it was the way of nature, wasn’t it.
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Yes, that is the way it goes, after all this other bird needs to eat and feed its young as well. It is a harsh reality. I was very sad about this outcome for the babies.
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Wow, quite the story thru photography! I hope the little one survives but are the parents large enough to carry it to the hedgerow, or did they push it out of the nest and midge it there? So sad about the unhappy ending of the other birds 😦
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I would love to know how the baby got to the hedgerow from the nest, unfortunately I did not get a photo that would shed light on that. The baby can hop quite well, because when it was out of the hedgerow (when I got that last photo) the adults came back and chirped at it quite fiercely and it hopped back into the hedgerow on its own.
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Well now, that’s a good tale for my comment on how protective moms are 🙂
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Yes, I agree 🙂
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Love the series of the robin’s nest story! They grow fast 🙂
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Thank you, it has been quite a journey this year.
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Sad story. It was a good thing the last one was relocated.
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Yes, of all the places nearby, that is probably the best.
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😦 gulp . I know it’s nature but . Right under your nose I do feel sad . Hope the little one left will make it …
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Yes, we are all hoping for the best. It is hard to watch, but you are right, it is nature, not always cute and pretty.
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I think that robins nest more than once so hopefully there will be more babies this summer.
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It is possible. Last year we just got a spring nest, but we will see.
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oh that’s so sad, hope for a happy ending for the little one. x
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We are hoping for the best as well.
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😦
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I know…it is
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How sad for the robin parents. I guess they were no match for that bird of prey. 😦
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They tried, we saw them chase off the bigger bird at least twice. The interesting thing is that it was a group effort, there were other similar sized birds working to get the larger one out of the area. I am assuming they all had nests in the area.
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Stories like this always makes me stop and think about how quickly things can change in our lives. Thanks for the update and for sharing. I’m pulling for the little one!
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It is something to give you pause isn’t it? I think we are all rooting for the little one 🙂 I’ll keep an eye out for it, but they can be hard to spot once they are in the hedgerow.
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Sad indeed but I am glad one survived. That is part of nature unfortunately. Great shots and video. 🙂
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Yes, it was sad and amazing to watch unfold all at once.
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That’s nature for you. 🙂
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Yes, that is true.
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Oh that is so sad but we cannot interfere with nature. Life is really all about survival of the fittest.
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I think the good thing is that this area can support the bigger birds like the Cooper’s Hawk. That to me is a sign of a healthy area.
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What a great set of photos and video! Too bad about the little robins. Sometimes there are hawks in our neighborhood that prey on the smaller birds and even squirrels. Guess that’s part of nature.
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Thanks! It is sad even though I know it means that the bird population here is healthy.
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It’s very sad, robins are so cute. But I also love to see the large birds of prey.
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I agree, I love watching the little ones, but larger birds of prey means that something is healthy about the area.
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The story of survival! We have a very young bunny that likes to sit out in the open on our neighbor’s lawn. I keep “telling” it to move somewhere less exposed, but it doesn’t listen!
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🙂 Yeah, the little robin wouldn’t listen to me, but boy did it’s parents put up a racket!
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Oh that’s unfortunate 😦 but at least there is one! I hope this little family continues to grow!
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Yes, the little one is learning to fly. I have not gotten a picture, but it seems to be going well. 🙂
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Having a robin nest in one’s garden is a mixed blessing as it is hard not to get attached to them and then worry about the babies. I’ve been through this too. Thank you for updating about your little neighbors.
Blessings ~ Wendy
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Yes, that is a hazard of having them right in the yard. My youngest spotted the fledgling the other day and said it looks quite well.
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🙂
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Hope you’ll be able to capture him on camera PJB ! if not ’tis nice to know one little baby Robin came through .
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Yes, I am still working on getting another photo. No luck yet, but my youngest did spot it in the hedgerow yesterday and it seems to be doing well.
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🙂
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Unfortunately we know why there were 5 to begin with…nature can be so sad…but I’m certainly glad they got one to safety…
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You are right, that is why there were so many eggs. We were very glad to have one survive.
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