Robin's nest under my window

Baby robins, day 2

It's difficult to get pictures of the babies, the male and female take turns covering them for warmth. While one is in the nest, the other is out gathering food. They will leave the nest if I open the window and lean out with the camera, but I don't want to scare them and have them abandon the babies.

Some facts about robins:

Song: The robin is one of the first birds to sing in the morning and is one of the last to be heard at night. The male is most vocal, usually singing from high points in the morning and during courtship. The robin is one of the few birds to sing throughout the winter »listen to robin's songs.

Diet: Though we think of robins as eating mainly earthworms, in fact earthworms and other invertebrates make up about 40 percent of its diet. Most of their food is fruit. They find earthworms by sight rather than by sound.They eat invertebrates mainly in the spring, summer and early morning, but rely on fruit later in the day, in the fall and winter. Their preferred fruits are grapes, cherries, tomatoes, pokeberries, mistletoe berries, rowan berries and in southern states, the fruits of the Sabal Palm. Robins also eat beetles, grasshoppers and other insects. Occasionally, robins eat small snakes and shrews, and they sometimes go on the seashore at low tide for molluscs or in water to pick up fish fry.

Chicks: The chicks are fed by both parents. They eat about 35 to 40 meals a day. The parents keep the nests clean by carrying away or eating the chicks' fecal sacs.

Stay tuned for future updates and more about robins. The daily pictures will be at Flickr.