Robins lay only one egg per day. Robins usually lay 4 eggs and then stop. Like most birds, they lay one egg a day until their clutch is complete. If you remove one egg each day, some kinds of birds will keep laying for a long time, as if they can stop laying only when the clutch of eggs feels right underneath them. They sit on the eggs for 12 to 14 days. The female usually does all the incubating. Even in good weather, she rarely leaves her eggs for more than 5 to 10 minutes at a time. Our mama Robin has protected her eggs during rain, hail and sunshine. She is a good mama. Its mom’s job to maintain the proper incubation temberture, keeping the eggs warm during cold weather and shaded during really hot weather. She also must turn or rotate the eggs several times daily. She hops on the rim of the nest and gently rolls the eggs with her bill. Turning the eggs helps keep them all the same temperature and prevents the babies from sticking to the insides of the egg shells. Males only occasionally sit on the eggs, but they hang out in the territory throughout the daylight hours and respond immediately if the female gives a call of alarm. A male may even bring food to feed his mate, but usually she leaves the nest to feed herself. Our daddy bird has been dutifully by mamas side or close by the entire journey.
Once the babies are born they are naked, reddish, wet and blind. The babies require A LOT of food. 2 out of 4 of our eggs hatched and our mama has been busy. Now it becomes a full time job for both parents to protect the nest, find food and feed the clamoring babies during the 9-16 days they spend in the nest. Just in a few days since our eggs have hatched you can see a huge difference in the babies appearances. Development, growth and feathers are moving a wwarp speed. I guess things have to move along quickly if the birds are intended to be out of the nest in 16 days. Our close up experience has been exciting. We enjoy listening to our mama chirping outside the window in out tree. And now we get to smile every time we look over and see tiny beaks poking out the top of the nest anxiously awaiting mama to bring them breakfast. We have even had breakfast on the front porch a time or two so we can watch mama hunt for food and feed her babies. In a few more days we will be baby bird free. Until then we are watching each new development and celebrating the changes on a daily basis.
ss
cute + informative = good job!
ReplyDelete