939 Shavington St., North Vancouver, B.C. Canada
Baby Robins' Diary
North Vancouver, B.C. Canada
We have lived in our house on Shavington St. in North Vancouver, Canada for over 40 years. Each season I hang a different wreath on our front door. The wreath I hung there this spring is made of a circle of grape vine with white roses, leaves, and little white flowers-all artificial.
And as of Thursday June 18th a robin's nest!
Front Door Wreath
June 18, Thursday-I came home about 4 pm and went to unlock the front door, but something was different. I looked at the front door wreath and found what was different; there was a robin's nest built in it. And inside the robin's nest was one small blue egg.
June 18 the Egg
June 20, Saturday-By today the robin had laid 2 more eggs. I learned that robins lay one egg a day, usually to a total of 4, but our robin only laid 3.
June 20, Three Eggs
Day 1/July 6, Monday-The eggs have hatched and there are three fat pink worm like creatures in the nest. They are wiggling and making a faint peeping sound.
Day 1/July 6
Day 2/July 7, Tuesday-Today the baby birds are all beak with black round dots where their eyes will be. I have learned that their eyes open around day 5. A grey fuzz is forming on parts of their bodies.
Day 2/ July 7
When I came to take the photo the mother robin flew to the top bar of the front yard swing set to keep guard.
Day 2/July 7
Day 3/July 8, Wednesday-The birds seem to be sleeping, they are wiggling.
Day 3/July 8
Day 4/July 9, Thursday, 6:15 pm-I finally got a photo of the mother robin in the nest.
Day 4/July 9
6:30 pm-When she left the nest I photographed the babies. They seemed to be sleeping, and I could see their bodies move as they breathed. They have more grey fuzz on their bodies.
Day 4/July 9
Day 5/July 10, Friday-11:30 am-The photographer from the North Shore News got a picture of the mother robin in the nest. The babies were sleeping.
4:00 pm-In the photo I took the babies seem larger. The 3 beaks are very distinctive. But they are still asleep. They seem to sleep a lot.
Day 5/July 10
(Note from Christine Lyon at the North Shore News: "I did speak to someone from the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C. She said that robin chicks typically stay in the nest 14-16 days after hatching. At that point they will be fledglings and it could take up to two more weeks for them to learn how to fly. You might see them hopping around on the ground while they are learning to fly (good idea to keep the cat inside during this phase). She suspects the parents were drawn to your door wreath because it’s in a protected area away from crows.")
Day 6/July 11, Saturday-4:30 pm-The mother bird let me walk right up to in front of the door to take her photo in the nest. After I walked into the house she flew away, and I took the photo of the babies in the nest. They are bigger, breathing, and again sleeping. There is more brown/black down covering them and black striped areas seem to have appeared.
Day 6/July 11
Day 6/July 11
Day 7/July 12, Sunday-12:30 pm-Today for their photo the baby birds lined up with beaks in the same direction. They are developing wing feathers, note the black feathers with white stripes and dots.
Day 7/July 12
Day 8, July 13-8 am, Alan's 75th Birthday! The babies actually look like birds, with feathers. And their eyes are open!
Day 8/July 13-8 am
Day 8/July 13-4pm
Day 9/July 14-10:30 am-Baby birds in wreath on front door with eyes wide open and blinking. Birds seem fully feathered, with remnants of grey down.
Day 9/ July 14-10:30 am
Day 10/July 15-10:00 am The mother bird flew away as I opened the side door. And here we have the three babies with eyes open, defined feathers, little down, and all beaks up.
Day 10/July 15-10:00 am
Day 11/July 16-9 am The baby robins in the front door wreath seem to be about 20 times the size they were when they were born. They are oozing out of their nest. I put a mat and blanket below the nest in case they fall out.
Day 11/July 16-9 am
12 noon One of the baby robins was stretching its wings. Can trying to fly be far off ?
Day 12/July 17, Friday 9:30 am The baby robins in the front door wreath growing and growing above the faux roses.
Day 12/July 17-9:30 am
Day 13/July 18, 8 am-One of the baby birds in the nest in the front door wreath no longer fits and had to perch on the side.
Day 13/July 18, 8 am
Photos: Taken in June and July 2015 by SW.
Link 1: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/robin/FAQBabies.html
Link 2: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/robin/nestlings.html
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(Note 2017 Update from Suzanne Wilson Facebook entries.)
"April 14, 2017-The Birds are Back. Two years ago robins built a nest and hatched 4 eggs in the Spring wreath on our front door. (See blog post 7/11/15 at Churches on Sundays http://.www.churchesonsundays.blogspot.com.) In 1916 they took a year off. But this morning we heard scratching at the front door and found The Birds are Back. This time they built the nest at the top of the front door gold 50th Wedding Anniversary wreath that will hang there the whole year as we celebrate our 1967 wedding.
Golden Anniversary Wreath
"April 19, 2017-The Birds are Back! This morning we found two small blue eggs in the nest at the top of our front door 50th Wedding Anniversary wreath. The parents watched us from a nearby bush.
Blue Robin's Eggs
Proud Parents
"April 21, 2017-The Eggs Are Gone! What a shock. Yesterday we noticed that the top of the nest was messed up. This morning I climbed the ladder to take a peek at the two little blue eggs that were in the nest. and They Were Gone. Alan figures the crows got them. Bad crows! We are sad.
I guess we can take down the sign.
I guess we can take down the sign.
Empty Nest
Front Yard Warning Sign
Reference: 2017 Facebook-Suzanne Wilson
