I’m lucky enough to have a home that backs onto a small piece of parkland that is full of trees, brush and wildlife.
Every spring, we watch the squirrels race around with spring fever. The rabbits scampering about around looking for tender new shoots to munch on. The birds flying across the yard with bits of twigs, last year’s now-brown lily leaves and twine in their beaks as they busily construct their own home for their coming offspring.
This spring, we’d been enjoying a pair of robins – typical harbinger of the season – who built a nest just outside my patio doors each year. Over the course of about five days the nest went from a few random strands of grass to a fully constructed and lined cradle of safety for the mama bird to lay her eggs.
Just a few short days later, three perfect eggs had appeared. Getting photos was tricky, as both birds had a habit of dive-bombing anyone that came too close. But it was worth it to capture the absolutely beautiful shade of blue that Robin eggs share.
Over the next week or so, we waited patiently, opening the patio door ever so slowly so as not to frighten the anxious Mama-to-be. The calendar was marked with the day we expected the eggs to hatch.
And then it happened – or rather it didn’t happen.
One morning, we woke up to realize that the robins had vanished. The nest had been abandoned and we weren’t going to experience the joy of watching the little ones grow (I was actually considering taking a sick day — the “flew” on the day of fledging!). We’re not sure what scared away the parents, but we haven’t given up. Birds often lay more than one clutch of eggs a season, and our robins have successfully raised babies here more than once in the past.
So with hopeful optimism, we’ll wait again and hope the circle of life connects again.
