A Robin Family

My happy little Disney Princess life continues ...

I spend a lot of time sitting with my aunt on her deck and Mother Nature rarely fails to entertain us. My aunt is wiser than I, when it comes to birds so she is often identifying sparrows for me. I'm a pro on crows, magpies and robins - sparrows? Not so much.

Robins are frequent guests in the park-like area my aunt's deck faces. Every now and again I'll spot a small bird close to a robin and ask my aunt if that could possibly be a baby robin. She tells me time and time again, "No, it is a sparrow". The little bird (okay, sparrow) soon flies off leaving the robin on its own so I must believe what my aunt tells me is true.

This time, it was different. I spotted two adult robins and a little bird flitting back and forth between the adults with the odd flight into a low lying tree. Then it would go back to the adults. There was no sign of confrontation between them. There was a "parental" vibe going on. I asked my aunt once again, "Could that be a baby robin? The storyteller in my mind really wants this to be true." 

First off, she replied that it was a sparrow. As we continued to watch, the nature of the relationship between the birds appeared to be supportive and co-operative. Then another little bird joined the trio on the lawn. And a third. Bird #2 and #3 seemed to have honed the skill of flying more than the little one who kept going back and forth between the adults. 

By this time, even my aunt was convinced we were watching a family of robins. We watched the show they put on for at least ten minutes. When it was time for me to leave, I noticed another neighbor watching the Robin Show and she too, was talking herself out of believing the little bird was a sparrow. We marveled at the fact we may be watching a family of robins who were newly out of the nest and trying out their wings.

More time passed and this little robin family was still together and within sight. I walked to my car and I was fortunate enough to capture this: 

When I got home, I googled "baby robins" and from what I read and enlarging the video footage on my phone, I am 99% certain we were indeed watching a family of robins who had just left their nest.

Mother Nature, you are amazing me on a daily basis. I will be watching for baby geese and ducklings now. I can't wait!

What is amazing you when you stop and let Mother Nature entertain you? If it isn't coming to your own back yard, I highly suggest going for a leisurely stroll. It's good for the soul.