The robins are grown and gone

That photo was taken on Wednesday, the day before they flew away. There was a tornado warning - it was a bit dramatic, the schools were not sending the kids home and such. Well, mommy robin stayed close to the babies too.



They were getting crowded. The next morning - that was Thursday morning - they flew off first thing. My photo correspondent went out to snap a morning photo and witnessed four birds all fly away in a second. Then the parents swooped him and he went inside. The parents were very careful of the newly flying little ones.



They were ready, look at those feathers. I got home Thursday night to see the empty nest.



These last few photos are from a couple of days before the babies flew off.



It really was fun to have this little family grow up on our front porch.



Very cute. But we are happy to be able to use the door again. The birds are gone, they stuck around our yard and trees for the first day. The babies were smaller than the parents when they flew off but bigger than sparrows. Ready for the world.

I have been home for two days, working on work the whole time. I am off at dawn tomorrow, one last work trip before things settle down for the summer months. I am leaving behind cupcakes for father's day and the youngest son's birthday. I am tired of all this working, and cannot wait to get home on Wednesday night and get back to quilting

Best,

Leanne

Soon the baby robins will fly away

There is mom with her babies on Saturday.



Here the four babies are tonight. They are between 10 and 11 days old now.



Now they look like baby birds, not like aliens.



I am guessing they will be flying off soon. I'll keep you posted. The photo correspondents will be on the watch and sending pictures.

I am in some of the most beautiful mountains in the world, although working, not hiking. And not sewing, but I hope to be back to the sewing by the weekend.

Best,

Leanne

The baby robins are flourishing

There is the nest with all four babies yesterday afternoon (babies are about 1 week old).



That photo is from yesterday too. The babies stick their heads out, maybe it is toasty warm in that nest.



I am away again, that one is just just a few minutes ago, from my teenage photo correspondent. He says that the mom swooped him within 10 seconds of him coming out to take the photo. She is away from the nest longer, but never far away.



That one is another one by the teenage correspondent, this morning through the glass.



In case you missed the story, or want a recap, here are some of the progress shots so far in the last week.

I wonder how soon they will start flying?

Best,

Leanne

The baby robins are growing

Last night the mom robin was feeding them and I could see beaks poking up. She is absent more now to get food and I worry that she is leaving them too long. Can you believe it, now I am turning into silly bird person.



I just took that one this morning. The oldest babies are one week old tomorrow. You can see the feathers growing in.



That photo was from last night, so they are 4 or 5 days old, they hatched over about 2 full days.

This is just a quick update, off to the glamorous world of working all the time.

Best,

Leanne

Maybe they are cute to the mommy bird?

There is doting mommy robin. She stands on the side of the nest and pokes food into the babies with her beak. They are mostly too little for us to see while she is feeding them, you can just see a tuft of hair sticking up. This picture is through my very dirty window, I am caught on that one too.



Now that I am home and my loyal photo correspondent is away, I went outside and braved the dive bombing to photograph the inside of the nest in a moment when it was unattended. The four babies are between 3 and 5 days today, they took three days to all hatch.

Do you think that mommy bird says in her head, like a human mom would, "oh aren't they soooo cute?" Or maybe she says, "more food quick so they start looking like proper beautiful birds?"



Here the babies are on Saturday just past, this is just after the last of the four eggs hatched. Baby birds are weird looking in my opinion - it is a good thing bigger birds are so cute. More updates on the birds soon, maybe tomorrow. (For those of you just joining in, you can go back a few days for the whole bird saga.)

I owe you all emails and will be catching up this week, before I go on the road again. But first, I am going to sew a bit, it has been many days since I was at my sewing machine.

Best,

Leanne