This month I've been musing about robins. Yes, I said robins. In particular the pair of robins who have decided to "adopt" us. Well, in reality they tolerate us since they decided rather stubbornly to build their nest on my back porch.
When the robins first started to build on the crossbar within an arms length of our back door, neither my husband nor I thought it a very good idea. We use the back door far more than the front, we are in and out with the dogs, going to and from the garage, etc. and worried that once their babies arrived, the birds would turn aggressive. I didn't relish the idea of walking out my back door and being dive bombed by a mother robin.
So, when the first long strands of dry grass began to appear, we swept them down, along with the mud drops they deposited for the mortar. This went on for days, actually a week or more. We'd knock it down, and they would rebuild.
We filled a large black trash bag with the construction materials and still they continued to try and build in that one spot though they originally had started at the top of the bar and each new attempt saw the nest starting lower down that bar.
Each time the nest was swept away, the pair of robins would double their efforts. One day alone between my husband and I we knocked it down sixteen times. It was actually on that day that they won. And how did they win? Well, the answer to that question is because hubby and I are complete softies under the right circumstances. And that circumstance was just when I was about to knock the strings of dry grass down yet again, I looked over to my back gate and saw Momma Robin standing there proudly displaying a large ribbon of plastic that she intended to place in her nest. I can't even describe how her standing there like that melted my resolve.
I set the broom back where it belonged and walked back into the house. She could stay.
It didn't take the two long to complete the nest once we decided they could move in. And the eggs came next along with long visits with Momma Robin as she sat dutifully on her nest. We began to speak to her, remind her she was a guest, and we did not intend her any harm.
After a while she would leave for extended periods of time while we sat outside. I think she thought we were the babysitters, which I guess in a way we were. All was going well, and she was proving to be a good guest. Yet, in the back of my mind I worried that once the babies arrived, she'd turn aggressive.
The babies apparently arrived without fanfare several days ago. I didn't even realize they were here until the other day when I noticed the change in Momma Robin, and Papa Robin was actually coming in to the nest with worms, which before, aside from helping to build the nest, he had stayed at a distance.
And Momma Robin has pretty much ignored us. So maybe she won't turn mean. I hope not. I'd really like to watch the babies grow and fly away. Who knows, maybe I'll feel a little like my children have left home when it happens.
It's been interesting!
Until next time, Sheri