Central Virginia Organic Gardener

"And 'tis my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes." - William Wordsworth, 1798

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Empty Nest Syndrome


Two robins left the nest around 2PM today, the last two were restless all afternoon (second photo above), and flew the coop between 6 and 7 PM. I was cooking dinner and did not get to see them go. Bye-bye birdies. What a gift this has been to see them develop so fast, from blind, little, reptilian-looking creatures, to fully feathered juveniles. What a pleasure to watch them feeding, to see the care given by their parents (and I do not care if the parental behavior is a hard-wired instinct, it is still care taking in a tough world). Last evening, on my walk around the neighborhood, I no longer saw robins on the lawns and in gardens, flipping over leaves and mulch searching for worms...I saw parents. So the babies have left to a wider world and now the most difficult passage of their life begins, life as imperfect flyers in a neighborhood full of cats, skies full of hawks, and streets full of cars. Robins have a 80% mortality rate, but I have a deep hope that Huey, Dewey, Louie and Scrub will beat the odds.

Happy nature!

4 comments:

Jenn said...

Aww I hope more robins make home near your home or on your home again in the future, I too enjoyed seeing them grow through your eyes! Thank you for sharing that.

Judy Thomas said...

Thanks JennaDee,
Robins have two broods per season, so there is hope for another brood nearby! Will it be so visible, within sight of my door???? I am leaving the nest up, in hope.

Anonymous said...

You are??

Judy Thomas said...

Unless that 'anonymous' is my husband, and he wants the nest down, yes I am, I think!