| We watched the robins build their nest from the first scraggly piece until its beautiful completion. This year they decided to build under our big umbrella. It did seem like a perfect place. It was shaded, protected and low enough for us to watch them as they took turns keeping the eggs warm. While Max was playing he would stop to have a conversation with Mama Robin. "Oh, Hello Mama Robin! What are you doing upstairs?" | 
Max enjoyed talking to Mama Robin while she was waiting on these four babies to hatch.
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Then yesterday I realized Mama Robin was bringing worms for her babies. They must have hatched sometime last week. I waited until she fed them and then I climbed up for a picture. Four baby robins! One was a little smaller and tucked down in the middle of the others. Last year there was a small one that didn't end up surviving. I googled "how to feed baby robins" and "what to feed baby robins". Did you know that they eat every 10-20 minutes from sun-up to sun-down? They eat fruit, bugs and worms. I decided we would try to supplement the little one as often as possible to see if we could help it survive. It wouldn't take the strawberry strips that I offered so I laid it close to it's beak. The strips were gone when I checked later but I can't be sure the little one got it. I had hope though!
Today the nest is empty. Long strands of straw hang down from one side of it and the inside is no longer a symmetrical thing of beauty. Mama Robin, Papa Robin and two of their friends fluttered and flew, tweeted and cried helplessly while a big black crow ruined everything!
That ruined my morning. I cussed him out good after I inspected the nest. He wasn't even around but I hope he heard me. I wonder how Mama and Papa Robin process this now. They are very protective and were obviously upset. Do they experience sadness? Will they miss their babies?
Can we shoot the crow???
Can we shoot the crow???
