Mrs. Robin

The robins love my yard this year and I know why. Everywhere I dig, I find fat, juicy worms. I have at least one nest now. I thought it was a decoy nest as when I first saw it, there were no eggs in it. But the past two mornings, Mrs. Robin has been tending to it and sitting on it. Whenever I'm working in the yard, one or two robins are nearby keeping tabs on me. I thought there was a nest in the pine tree, and maybe there is a second one there--there are at least a half dozen robins hanging out in my yard. But the first nest is situated on a thick branch of the apple tree right at the corner of my deck just at eye level. Now I'm going to have to be very cautious about using my deck, my patio, and even my back door until those eggs are hatched--assuming those are eggs she's sitting on. I rarely see a cat roaming outside anymore, but that branch would be very vulnerable to cats or any other climbing critters such as raccoons. Oh dear, Mrs. Robin may not have chosen the best location.

The scrub jays are making a racket in my rain gutters this morning. What's that all about?! The finches are joining me in groups of three or so, enjoying the freshly-filled feeders. As are the crowds of noisy quail and the pairs of chortling doves. No chickadees yet this morning, but they'll be here. I have seen no sign of the grosbeaks yet this year. It's probably a little early for them.

The birds are my pets. They are wild and aloof like cats, but they know this is home.

UPDATE: Just sitting in the dining room having coffee and watching Mrs. Robin, when I heard (I have the windows all open this morning) a bird song I didn't recognize. Then the most brilliantly-colored western tanager landed in my apple tree along with his dowdy but charming mate. A tiff ensued with Mrs. Robin as to who could be in the apple tree, and Mrs. Robin won. What a thrill! It's been awhile since I had a western tanager in my yard.

UPDATE 2: It's evening and I spoke too soon earlier. I saw the male black-headed grosbeak tonight at the feeders. A spectacularly colored bird, about the size of a robin, with a distinctive dipping flight. I didn't see the Mrs., but I'm sure she's around too. In the meantime, Mrs. Robin has tolerated my ins and outs fairly well, flying off a short distance to keep watch and then returning when she felt safe. I decided to watch the sunset from the living room tonight and allow her some peace on her nest. I so want to peek at the eggs, but I don't want to scare her and cause her to abandon them.

Photo credit Western Tanager: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Photo credit Black-Headed Grosbeak: E.J. Peiker, Nature Photographer