First Baby

My husband spotted it first and called me to come and see. This little baby robin was sitting right at the edge of our patio, just outside Larry's office window. Daddy was not far away, busy finding worms to feed his baby. Larry actually saw the feeding in process, but, alas, I missed out on that part. The little one sat perfectly still, just waiting patiently for its next mouthful, while daddy hopped around the yard finding food and chasing other birds away. Adorable! I just wanted to go out there and pick up the baby and hold it in my hands, but I resisted the urge, and just enjoyed watching instead.

A couple hours later I noticed it sitting under a tree in the backyard. As I watched, I discovered the daddy was still nearby, looking for food. It was making a constant trek back and forth to feed not only this baby in the yard, but also his other babies in the nest. The nest, which was snuggled back into the pine tree in the corner of our yard, was so well hidden that it actually couldn't be seen until the daddy went to it. As I watched closely, I saw the movement of other birds in the nest, and actually saw one little mouth open wide to receive what the daddy fed it. The biggest thrill was watching the daddy feed his baby sitting out in the open, under our tree. That little one just sat there for the longest time, waiting for the next bite of food, and then opening his beak wide to receive his food. I must have spent an hour standing at my bedroom wndow watching this amazing sight!

(Yes, Rebecca, I guess I must be a "twitcher", although my husband calls me an ornithologist. I told him, "With a title like that, maybe I should get my doctorate so I could fix up the birds who get injured." Isn't that what "doctors" do?)