Nest Watching Excitement
Such delight over spotting a female Robin on her nest. She has the most stunning blue eggs I’ve ever seen! I love to watch her settle and resettle on her nest as she turns her eggs.
Sunday’s excitement included watching the male Robin chase off an European Starling that was trying to eat suet near the nest. The male Robin then monitored the area from a nearby fence post for a long period.
Being new to nest watching, I want to make sure not to put my much anticipated Robin’s eggs in any danger. After reading up on this practice on nestwatch.org, I learned many important tips! I have been careful to primarily monitor the nest from afar (mainly peeking out of my kitchen window) and the one time I walked outside to take this picture, I made sure that my neighbor Western Scrub Jay wasn’t around (to see where prey may be) and I did a slow and calm “walk by” instead of having my tracks end at the nest (minimizing the risk of leaving a trail for predators to use).
I am throughly enjoying nesting season and it is officially becoming my favorite time of year! I hope to come back with some updates on the fledglings in a couple of weeks!
Update:
The female Robin is still spending most of the day on her nest. I had the most fun sighting this week. I looked out the window early in the morning to find the Robin perched on the edge of the nest peering in and then looking around. New to nest watching I thought maybe this indicated they were hatching. I quickly realized that it was the male Robin watching over the clutch while the female was away – as she returned and quickly returned to brooding while he flew off.
Further research let me know this is typical and that the female typically only leaves the nest for 5-10 minute spans to eat. I find it exciting to compare what I have read with what I am witnessing and seeing how well the two match up.