The Empty Robin’s Nest

Author: siggy

Every morning I look out the bathroom window and see that empty robin’s nest.  She built it and sat on in it for several days.  There are probably eggs in it.  Cats sometimes sit in that window.  And that might have scared her off.  She had no way of knowing the cat six feet away from her could not reach her through the screen.  I just feel sad.  Every morning.  She has been gone over a week and I know she is not returning.  I just feel sad about the whole thing and wish I could do something but there isn’t anything I can do–just stare out the window and look at the empty nest.

Both my wife and I felt bad about the robin that built a nest just outside our bathroom window in the nearby tree.  She said it spent a few days sitting on the nest and then never returned.  Maybe our cat who sometimes sits (??? in at) the window ten feet away from the nest frightened it away.  And of course there is a bit of traffic to and fro the bathroom during the day.  I was really curious whether there were any eggs in the nest.  I am going to take a ladder under the tree and find out.  I know birds sometimes abandon their nests.  Both of us felt bad about it.

The latest visitor at our house is a bird that built a nest in the wandering Jew plant hanging from the top of our garage door.  The nest is facing the back of the garage.  We saw a bird fly into it today but we still are not certain what kind of bird it is.  It is probably a small song bird.  She might be laying on her eggs.  Baby birds grow up quickly.  And before we know it they are gone.  We are keeping an eye open for them.

I did not see the Carolina wren for about a week.  I had discovered a nest the bird was making then.  Today I spotted two right outside my large living room window.

That was the only time I saw two at once.  I checked my bird book:  both the male and female are identical.

One of them hopped on the chair right in front of me on the porch with several pieces of straw in its mouth and then disappeared into the large white pine branch still leaning against the house, torn off our tree during an ice storm.

The nest was on the ledge behind the branch.  I was hesitant to view it again for I did not want to disturb the bird especially if it was already sitting on its eggs.

Now I was keeping my eyes open for the bird thrilled they had not abandoned the nest.  It was a only a small moment in my day but it made me happy.

The sky is dimly lit just before the dawn.  The birds are in song in full crescendo.  I am wondering when I will see the first chickadees, tufted titmouse and downy woodpeckers come to my feeders.

I am thinking about that Carolina wren that built a nest in the large pansy pot hanging from my garage door.  Yesterday before it became light I shined a flashlight into the nest–flushing the poor frightened bird who high tailed it for parts unknown–and peered into the nest spotting three tiny speckled eggs.  My wife reprimanded me for scaring the bird.  I will leave her alone now.  I want the mother to successfully raise its young and I do not want to scare it out of its wits further, possibly abandoning her eggs.

Two years in a row (the last two) an eastern phoebe built a nest just outside our front door on top of the right lamp but I guess there was too much traffic in and out the house so it abandoned the nest and raised its young somewhere else.

robineggsnestThis year a pair of robins have built a nest in the right corner in the gigantic bush.  At least twice I looked inside it but I could not spot the nest.  A few times when I walked nearby I flushed one of them.  Two robins keep feeding under our large pine tree which is somewhat unusual.  Several time I saw a robin extract a worm from the earth, toss it above its head, then gobble it down.

I love to observe the natural world around me especially the birds that come to our four feeders.  I am expectantly waiting for the first hummingbirds to come to our two feeders I have set up for them.  One is hanging from the pine tree mentioned and the other is hanging close to the window.

According to my bird journal I have kept for over five years the first one usually appears the end of April.  It is the twenty-second of April so my eyes have been continually sweeping the area outside our large living room window.  It was over a month ago the local nature columnist reported someone spotted one passing the Mason Dixon line and they would be here any day.  I put out nectar immediately after that announcement.  Well I am still waiting to spot one and already had to replace the nectar I set up and clean the feeder immediately after I noticed black mold in the feeder.  I guess they must have turned around or taken an extended stay along the way.

Watching birds give me such pleasure.  The money I spend on feed for them is worth every cent.  I love observing their antics:  they are all different.  This has been a lifetime hobby.