We had three jumpers in our yard yesterday.
Just above my office window, on top of a security light, robins decided to set up camp to raise a family.
Yesterday, I go to hang clothes on the line, and low and behold, a little fuzzy headed baby is sitting in the yard. His wing feathers are sparse so I am convinced he was a premature jumper!
I go to get a box and a dish for water and when I approach him, he starts hopping around the yard and mom and dad dive bomb me.
Okay, okay. If I can pick him up, he needs saving. If he is mobile, he is probably going to be okay.
Next thing I know, jumper no. 2 comes barreling out of the nest.
Shit, now I have 2 baby robins hopping around the yard. Mom and dad are doing their best to corral the two babies out of the wide open. The babies just got a taste for freedom, so nothing mom or dad attempts is working. They just keep hopping around aimlessly, like chickens without heads.
I go to check on the last baby who is still in the nest, and sure enough, he is standing on the edge of the nest, wildly flapping his wings. For a couple of hours he test this jumping theory…on the count of 1, 2….wait, wait. On the count of 10….then he would settle his round little body back in the nest for a few minutes.
Eventually, jumper no. 3 finds his way out. All hell has broken loose in the back yard – hopping robins are everywhere!
Here is jumper no. 1(in the back) and jumper no. 2. Jumper no. 2 was pretty active and looks healthy. But as many middle kids are afflicted with, he really was kind of plain; nothing special stood out about him.
Here is jumper no. 1 again. He is the only one left in the yard today and isn’t flying too well. He loves to hang out on the bottom fence rail pretty much all the time and waits in this corner until Mom comes to feed him. He looks a bit scrawny so I hope he stays in the yard until he is looking a bit more healthy.
And jumper no. 3. He was the first to get out of the yard, and he certainly practiced all day. He would hop up on the deck and look at the fence, his little wings trembling and his body leaned forward for a minute or so (I think he was doing the – okay, on the count of 1, 2, wait. On the count of 10 – thing again). Then he would lunge full speed, wildly flapping and smack into the fence.
While I was out taking pictures, I decided to get some shots of the new back yard. (Don't mind the weeds if you can see them, that was my project yesterday but the jumpers were a little skittish about me being around)
Amazing that this house used to be the blue string-E machin-E
We didn't move. Can you believe it? They tore down the house next door and built this boring house (but better than what was there). Over the last 2 years we have totally re-done the yard (front and back). It was just so ghetto and getting out of control I had to rip it all out and start new.
The dogs don't care much for grass so it hasn't been too bad. But we had a bit of a time getting them to use the bathroom in their designated (pine straw) area....as you can see from the pee rings we are trying to repair
Hopefully he'd flown off to have a better life. But you never know.
I haven't seen mom or dad around since yesteray morning, either.
I would put him in a box and start feeding him, but he is a quick hopper. He won't let me near him - and even if I did get him in a box, I think he would just hop out. He just doesn't seem to have enough wing strength to get "air" - I suppose this one is just gonna' have to make it on his own or suffer the fate of being unhealthy.
Sherry
Beautiful yard.
Beautiful yard.
Poor # 3 looks scrawny. Hopefully he'll get his strength up soon. I have lots of baby cardinals & woodpeckers in my yard. There are several huge crows too that hang out. I try to run them off when I can.
We have had two jumpers of robins recently and now a baby blackbird just learning to fly in our lilac bush. We had another bird alot smaller who had her babies and she pushed them all out of the nest. 1 survived a day and the others (4) did not make it at all. Everyday we went out there was a new baby bird on the ground. With all the birds out Lovie wanted to clean out the apple shaped bird house. She found to her amazement 6 other baby birds inside that had died a while back yet the birds built a new nest right over top of them! She was walking around the yard scolding the mother bird saying BAD BIRD!!! I told her Honey I don't think the Mama knows what you are saying to her. It made her feel better anyway.
Bear Hugs!
PolarB ;)
All the jumpers made it out and very happy about that. It was a stressful few days for me! I did see a small baby squished in the street over the weekend....I sure hope it wasn't one my jumpers
It was a new experience for me....this is my first house and the yard was so bootie until this summer that is was just a big dog toilet. So I never went out there other than to clean up.
Hope you are well
My husband thought I was nuts because I named them...AND could identify each of them. They each had their own little personalities.
Jumper no. 3 was more of an instigator. I think he talked his buddies into testing the water before he jumped into the cold water. LOL.
Jumper no. 1 was certainly the free spirited, careless and on the verge of punk rock, if you ask me.
Jumper no. 2 was just kind of surviving. Not the first and not the last. He was bound to be the exceller even though he had little to contribute. LOL
Thanks! We are enjoying.
I don't know how you keep your sanity!!!! I would be freaked out with a tent in the backyard it the crows were threatening the little babies. I get nuts over that stuff (so probably a good thing I don't have kids - they would be over-sheltered nut jobs, most likely)
How sad to hear about all your baby losses! My buddy Freda had several blue birds (adults) dead under the nest. A vet told them (I forget the bird) pecks their eyes out and takes over the nest to eat the eggs and lay their own. Lordy. I would be too stressed about it all
I have this silly naive thing about saving the world - I cannot witness the demise of innocence - but macabre shit gets me going. Go figure
Makes me wanna look up in the sky to see what is gonna reach down and snatch me up. Good thing the Jolly Green Giant likes his peas so much huh?
Bear Hugs!
PolarB ;)
Vegans (hungry) giants are the best giants to know, I say. Here's a peapod and a carrot, buddy!
I would have stressed over the bird eating the bird thing at first, but I suppose in the end I kinda' like the raptors. So their eating habits don't seem to bother me.
Here's to having a peaceful and beautiful weekend!