Empty nest

I thought I would write about butterflies next, but there is a robin update. The baby robins have grown up and gone off to college. We didn't see them fledge, but after examining the nest and the area around it I'm pretty confident that they made it out on their own without mishap. The nest is intact and undisturbed.

This nest is a work of real beauty. I'm amazed at the carefully molded mud layer pressed against the grass outer layer. It's hard to photograph even now that I'm free to get up close, because it's so well hidden.

It's best to leave it undisturbed. I've read that birds may come back and reuse it for the 2nd brood of the season, building a new layer on top of the old nest first. I've never seen this myself.

Other birds have been carrying nesting material around the yard, so we know there's a lot going on in the nearby bushes and trees, mostly out of sight.

Mr. Lonelyhearts, the little house wren, is still trying to get a date. He's been singing and putting twigs into the birdhouses, but we still don't see a mate.