Arriving in Maine a week or so ago, the first thing we noticed was a nasty mess on the front porch. It didn't take more than a glance to determine a feathered friend had chosen it as a safe place to nest. The nest was empty, and the hubby was anxious to remove it and get started on the cleanup.
Just as he was about to knock it down, a chittering mama robin nestled in letting us know in no uncertain terms that wasn't going to happen. So began a watchful few days.
Except for a few breaks, mama stayed put. Then she began leaving the nest and returning with a squirming caterpillar or some such in her beak, a seeming indication some little ones had hatched.
Initially all I could observe was her leaning down to drop whatever into the nest.
It wasn't long before a wide open mouth began peeking above the nest's edge waiting to receive whatever tasty morsel mama had found. To my amazement, she'd put the whole thing into that mouth and I wondered how in the world the little one could swallow it.
To capture the wonder of all this, I had to shoot through a window as mama let me know whenever I stepped on the porch trying for a better shot my presence was not welcome. I was not going to attempt to change her mind!
I was eager to observe the little ones growth and hoped to see their first attempts to fly, but that opportunity didn't happen. I began noticing there was no action. The nest was still in place, but mama had disappeared and there was no sign of her offspring. Trying to determine what was going on, the hubby got the ladder and climbed up to see. Astonishingly, the nest was empty, no birds, no egg shell remnants…..nothing. What happened will remain a mystery which leaves me with an unresolved sadness.
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