Watching Robin

The American Robin (Turdus migratorius) is one of the most common and wide spread birds in North America, found from the northern tree line in Alaska all the way south to Mexico. A robin seems almost domesticated when we see it hopping around the yard in search of worms, allowing us to come so close. But in the wild areas where it also lives in abundance, it is a secretive bird and quite wary.

Very early one misty May morning, I had my camera set up at the front window of my tri-level house, drapes pulled nearly closed, and just the end of my telephoto lens pointed outside to the tree. The height was just right to look over at a fork in the branches where a robin had been collecting grass, twigs, and bits of ribbon for nearly a week. It was just a messy pile of nest material, but I saw her there the night before and decided maybe this was the day for serious construction to take place. I was up before dawn to peer through my lens. She was also up before dawn, and she was starting to bring in more dried grass and move things here and there, tucking them in place with her beak, then peering at the effect.

Gradually, the nest began to take shape. I divided my time between watching the robin and enjoying my morning coffee. I took photos fairly often, though she wasn't very still and I knew many of them would be blurred.

After a while, I noticed that the robin was placing something in the nest, but I didn't see her bringing grass. I finally decided that she was getting mud to line the nest and hold things in place. Sometimes she crouched down in the nest, using her breast to shape the bowl, and fluttering her wings to brush the materials around where she wanted them.

Once, when she was away for a few minutes, a house sparrow that had been watching the process, flew in and quickly stole some choice bits of nesting material. When the robin returned she seemed to know right away that something was gone, and she busily repaired the damaged area. By mid-day, the nest was much neater. The hard-working bird stopped now and then to rest and, I suspect, try the nest for size and shape. When the afternoon sun slanted in on her, the robin apparently felt that the nest was completed. She settled in for a little while and then flew off, probably in search of food.  

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