A few weeks ago, I wrote about the robin that was continually banging into the windows of our house, with his beak, intentionally.  Apparently, he was successful in staking his claim to the territory that he wanted, because we now have a masterpiece of mud and grass on the light next to our kitchen door.

And because I do not want to raise baby robins myself which could potentially happen if someone were to scare the mother robin away by slamming the door, we will not be using the kitchen door for the next several weeks until the eggs have hatched and the fledglings are old enough to leave the nest.  Welcome to my life in the woods – Bienvenue à ma vie dans les bois! 

It’s amazing, when you think about it, that a little bird with a tiny brain and no hands, has the ability to construct this nest. I’m not sure I could build this, even with my hands and larger brain.

There is a lot of mud in it.  I wasn’t sure how they transported the mud (beaks, feet, or mini-mud buckets?) but I Googled and confirmed that they do transport the mud in their beaks.  What a lot of work!

And the spots on the side of the house and on the light fixture that look like mud?  They are mud.  Just when I finished cleaning the windows from the robin banging into them, now I’ll be cleaning the siding and the light.  But I’ll have a respite for about four weeks – two weeks waiting for the eggs to hatch and two weeks waiting for the babies to fly away.

The good thing about the location of the nest is that it’s easy to access for photos.  It only took them a few days to build the nest, and then there was one egg in it.

And over the next three days, three more eggs.  Aren’t they a beautiful shade of blue?

There she is – the proud mama-to-be.

Note the tiny beak that transported all of that mud.  I have a zoom lens so although she is aware that I am there, I am far away and I like to believe that my presence does not bother her too much.

Finally, something fun and entertaining to add to my to-do list.

• Laundry
• Pull weeds
• Laundry
• Clean up after the bear
• More laundry
• Check robin’s nest for signs of hatching (This is the fun and entertaining item.)
• Still more laundry

I’m going to sit on the deck now, to enjoy a glass of wine, and listen to the robins sing.

While I’m relaxing, first, I’ll think about why I would not like to be a robin.

1. Get up and out of the nest before sunrise
2. Eat worms
3. Regurgitate worms to feed babies
4. Carry mud in mouth to build nest
5. Nest building in general

Then I’ll think about the reasons that I would like to be a robin.

1. No laundry
2. No laundry
3. No laundry
4. No laundry

The end.  La fin.

French Twisted Woman