three blue robin's eggs

three blue robin's eggs

in a cup of grass and mud –

mother flown away

Walking under an old apple tree, suddenly I catch a glimpse of a bird flying away from a low-hanging limb. There, at eye-level, I spot a pendulous nest made of grass and mud, built in the crotch of a branch. The nest is an amazing feat of engineering. How do you make a hanging container entirely of mud and grass that can withstand rain and wind? It takes the mother Robin six days to build a nest. I am wondering whether there are eggs or even chicks inside the nest. Approaching cautiously so I don't touch anything, I peer inside. Three beautiful azure eggs nestle inside on the fine grass lining. These eggs were laid, one a day. Then the mother begins to incubate them, which takes about 12-14 days. Sitting on the eggs to keep them warm, she senses their temperature through a bare brood patch on her breast where the feathers have molted. She turns the eggs frequently with her beak and feet to maintain an even temperature and so the embryo doesn't stick to the inside of the egg. If it's quite hot, she may raise up from the eggs to allow them to cool. She only leaves the eggs for a quarter of an hour to get food. If it's cold or rainy, she may stay on the nest and the male, who stays nearby, will bring her food. After the chicks hatch, both parents help feed the babies. I don't know when these eggs were laid, but I will check back in a few days to see if they've hatched. This may be this mother's second clutch. She can produce up to three successful broods in one year, though many of the chicks will not survive to adulthood.