Barking Mad

And Then They Were Gone

I took this photo at 11:21AM EST this morning . . .

By 4:43PM EST our baby robins had graduated from the nest. . .

Gaby is, as I was expecting, crestfallen.   However, after she dried her tears and told me that she hoped the babies would come back after they were all grown up and raise their  own babies in that very same nest, she went and sat at her desk and started writing stories about what Pippa, Twitter, Flutter and Bambi were doing out in the great big world.

Good luck fledglings. 

Good luck to anyone who finds themselves graduating from your own nest, be it high school, college, or even Kindergarten.  May the big wide world embrace you and may you embrace it back.

Spread your wings and fly!

Until They Fly Away

Gaby has said over and over again, that she's going to stand there until the baby robins fly away, so that she can say goodbye to each one. 

Gaby and I have gotten so attached to these adorable little peeps that we've named them!  While I can never be sure who's who, we've christened the chicks,  Twitter, Flutter, Pippa, and ...Bambi.  I know I know, but Gaby insisted.   So Bambi it is.  I have no idea which is male and which is female, so just go with me here, after all, it makes Gaby really happy! 

Every morning, I sit and wait until mama and papa robin are off foraging for worms and other yummies for their babies, before I step out and snap a few quick shots of the babies.   I had a bit more time today so I stood on a step ladder and noticed that each of the chicks are taking turns moving to the top of the pile and spreading their wings and fluffing them out.   Surely it won't be long before they are on the precipice of the nest, and then they'll take that leap.   It looks like Twitter made his or her way to the top of the pile and is fluffing and trying to spread his wings in anticipation of eventually taking flight . . .

I imagine this might be Pippa, getting ready to fluff her wings, and also maybe practicing for when she has a brood of her own babies.

When  they do make those first few furtive jumps, Gaby has promised she's going to be there to wish them good luck and say goodbye...

What a Difference a Few Days Makes

Remember it was just five days ago when I first posted about discovering that baby robins had hatched, in the nest that's located right outside our back door?   We figured they were about 5 days old at the time.

That was then . . .

. . . And this is NOW!

It won't be long at all before they're trying out those downy soft feather wings and taking to the air to begin lives of their own.

It's a bit funny to think how I found them so alien-looking and not the most adorable things, when we first saw them, and have been almost annoyed by their presence, yet now I find myself knowing I'm going to miss them when they fly the coop. 

It's been an absolute joy to share with Gaby how rapidly the chicks have gone from unattractive hatchlings to fully-feathered young birds.     We're hoping that mama and papa robin decide to brood again, as it's still early enough in the season.    Well, we're also hoping that they might want to reconsider moving the nest.  If not?  We'll all co-exist happily.