Empty Nest

      We've been empty nesters for quite awhile now. This post isn't about that, it is literally an empty nest. As in robin's nest. Off and on over the years we have had robins build a nest in the same spot under the eves on some lattice by our back door. This year I thought I would follow their progress from start to finish.              

                      Here's Mrs. Robin starting to build the nest.

     This all started on April 6th. The male arrives at the nesting area first, but the female does most of the nest building with some help from the male. The nest is made up of grasses, twigs, debris worked into solid foundation of mud, lined with fine grasses and plant fibers.

Work in progress

                                                                                                      

     Time to lay some eggs. Usually 4, but sometimes 3-7. In our case she had four. The incubation by the female is 12 -14 days.

      The babies have hatched and the feeding begins. Both parents feed, although the female does more. They make up to 40 feedings a day. Mostly insects and earthworms.

         Waiting for their food.

Getting bigger

     Things are starting to get crowded. The young leave the nest about 14-16 days after hatching.

 

     The last one to leave. This was taken on May 16th, the next day he was gone. The parents make sure the babies find a good hiding place and continue to feed them. The male may tend the fledged young while the female begins a second nesting. There are usually two broods per season, sometimes three. As adults, robins eat beetle grubs, earthworms, caterpillars, fruits and berries. Watching nature unfold is such a pleasure, especially in our own backyard.

 

We just noticed that robins are building a nest in this tree just below our bedroom window. Can you see that dark spot towards the top and a little to the left? We of course don't know if it's the same pair of robins, but we like to think so.
 

A thought to ponder: "A person is rich in proportion to the number of 

                                    things which they can afford to let alone."

                                                                                    Thoreau

                            

Participating in: Grand Social, Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party, Thursday Favorite Things

Going Batty

     A few years ago I wrote a post about all the wildlife in our yard, Who's in Your Garden. We continue to enjoy visitors to our garden all year round. Like this little bunny.

Or this early robin.

Later the babies started showing up.

Here's a male duck that was waddling around our backyard. There was a female also but I was unable to get a photo.

A snake was sunning himself on the rocks and startled me when I first caught sight of him out of the corner of my eye.

Something else that has been building in our trees are paper wasps.

They can be beneficial to your garden, but when you have a family member that is very allergic, they have to go. Their nests are fasinating.

The other day someone new showed up. I was opening up our patio umbrella when something flew out very fast and landed on the window screen. Once I got the umbrella up I walked over to see what it was and I certainly was surprised to see a bat.

Some how it had gotten up into the closed umbrella.

It wandered around on the screen a bit then flew back to the umbrella. So I very carefully closed up the umbrella. Later when it was starting to get dark I opened the umbrella and the bat flew out and on his merry way. I am happy to see them around as they eat bugs, especially mosquitoes.

I was able to get this video of him.

A thought to ponder: Take a quiet walk with Mother Nature. It will nurture your                                    mind, body, and soul.

Participating in: Grand Social, Our World Tuesday Nature Notes, Bloggers Link Up

Spring Time is for the Birds

     One of the things I like about living in Wyoming is that we have changing seasons. After the snow finally disappears for good, we enjoy walking around the yard looking for what is emerging from its winter sleep.

Daffodils are usually the first flowers to bloom. 

The crab apple trees are in full bloom now, adding a cheerful pink to the landscape.

     I also look forward to the return of the robins, a sure sign that spring has arrived. We always seem to have one or two build a nest somewhere in our yard. In fact we have one now working on building a nest in about the same spot as the one below.

  

      This brave mama built under our eves, right outside our back door several years ago. It made for a perfect spot for us to view the progress of nest building, sitting on the eggs and feeding of the babies. I was able to get a pretty good shot of her hungry offspring. 

     We have all kinds of wildlife and many different birds in our backyard. You can see more photos of our wildlife by visiting one of my earlier posts: Who's in Your Garden. We always have an abundance of chickadees. A few years ago we were happy to see them build a nest in a bird house we had received as a gift. It was great fun watching their comings and goings.

A thought to ponder: "Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."                                            John Ruskin

Participating in: Grand Social, Share the Joy, Seasons, Through my Lens, Amaze Me Monday, Our World Tuesday, Wednesday Around the World, Share Your Cup

Invasion of the Grape Snatchers

     My husband is an early riser. In the nice weather he likes to take his morning coffee out on the patio and watch the day unfold. Watching and listening to the birds start the morning is particularly enjoyable. The other day when I got up he told me there was quite a ruckus going on in the grape arbor. The purple grapes (Valiant) are ripening and the word evidently went out to all the robins in the area. 

The grape vines frame the entrance to our herb garden

This is looking from the other side

      The robins were flying in and out of the grape vines. We think there were about 15 or so. You couldn't always see them but the leaves were rustling like they were alive. There was also a lot of squawking going on. My husband said he even saw one robin take a grape away from another and fly off.

This one seems to be waiting her chance to get some grapes, or maybe she's trying to chat with the mama goose?

These guys are looking with a covetous eye

Here's what the grapes look like up close. They make a wonderful jelly. 

Here's what they look like after the invasion

           You can see a bunch of grapes above this ones head. I doubt they                 will be there long. 

Here's a young robin waiting his chance

     As I mentioned before the grapes make a wonderful jelly. Fortunately I still have some from when I made jelly a couple years ago. I won't be fighting the robins for grapes this year. I'm not too sure I would win anyway. 

This picture, taken several years ago, shows some of our harvest. 

                     This little guy just happened to be hanging out when I                           was taking pictures of the robins.

A thought to ponder: "The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best"

Participating in: Grand Social, Tuesday Garden Party, Outdoor Wednesday, Share Your Cup