Tuesday, April 27, 2010

ABC Wednesday - O is for Egg - I mean Oval


Once again it is time for our weekly alphabet challenge and the letter of the week is O.
Last week I shared the nest that had been built on our porch and my fear the robins had left.

Within a few hours, the robins were back and there were 3 blue eggs (or ovals) in the nest!


The mom has adjusted to my hubby on the porch but still gets nervous if I come out and get too close. Off she flies, scolding all the time!

I am looking forward to the hatching of the eggs and the little ones growing.

Here is some useful information on the eggs and their development from this site.
Nesting
- The robin egg is about the size of a quarter
- The color of the eggs are robin egg blue (light blue)
- Females lay 2 to 4 eggs
- A female robin builds a nest out of grass and small twigs held together with mud
- Robins build nests in trees, bushes, hedges, or on houses
- The bowl-shaped nest is about 6 inches across
- The inside of the nest is about 4 inches in diameter which is big enough to hold a softball
- The nest is built 5 ft to 25 ft above the ground
- The nest is usually protected from rain and predators

Development
- Once the eggs are laid, it takes 11 to 14 days to hatch
- The adult female sits on the nest to incubate the eggs
- The eggs hatch within a day or two of each other
- Nestlings are pink with little tufts of feathers after they hatch (see photo)
- Nestlings eyes are closed when they hatch and they have blue bulges where their eye will develop
- The eyes of nestlings open when they are about five days old
- Nestlings have really long necks and short featherless wings
- Nestlings take about two weeks to develop feathers before
leaving the nest
- Once they leave the nest, young robins are called fledglings
Be sure to visit the other great participants here.

9 comments:

EG CameraGirl said...

Oval is a great O word! I think you are in for a wonderful treat watching the robins raise their family.

Leone said...

Thank you for sharing this with us, I look forward to seeing the new babies and we don't have to wait too long!

Mara said...

The robin mommy might feel threatened by you. Or she has a crush on your husband of course!

Sylvia K said...

Great post and word for the day, Beverley! I can't wait to see pictures of the babies -- your husband may have to take them since momma seems partial to him! How funny! Have a great day!

Sylvia

Leslie: said...

What fun to watch baby birds hatch! We once had a swallow build a nest in the eaves of our house right over the back staircase. Eventually, there was pOOp dripping all over it. But it was an education for us all. :D

Tumblewords: said...

What fun it will be to see your next pictures, too! Those are wonderful eggs, 'ovally' and blue!

Roger Owen Green said...

Our robin is using last year's nest, but is sprucing it up.

ROGER, ABC Wednesday team

Carol said...

My apologies. I chose oval after you did, but before I saw your post. Love your eggs - we had a robin nest in a tree just our front deck one year and it was such fun watching her young ones hatch and develop. Now my voyeuristic tendencies are satisfied by a birdcam in one of the birdhouses swallows always nest in. I watch their progress on my TV.

jabblog said...

It's always a joy and a privilege to have wild creatures bringing up their families so close to humans. Not long now before those pretty eggs hatch :-)