independence day

Yesterday morning there were three fledglings left in the nest. I was fortunate enough (watching carefully) to see two of them leave the nest over a period of a couple hours. Watching them rise up for several long minutes like they were gathering their courage, then perch on the ledge of the nest, and finally take that first fluttering, awkward leap out was pretty cool. When we got home from church, the third one was gone too.

 

And now the nest sits abanonded, having served its purpose. Neither baby nor parents will return to it. The next day or so the robin parents will be herding and watching these fledglings, bringing them food and teaching them to survive and fend for themselves. By the looks of these last three in particular, I suspect they'll fair just fine. The guy in the photograph above was smart (and strong) enough to flutter up out of the reach of predators while calling for mom and dad.

 

I'll be keeping a watchful eye to see if they roam back through our yard again.

 

One more in the comments.

Done