Life goes on in robin’s nest outside window

Dear Dr. John,

As I look outside my kitchen window, I see a nest of robins in a tree. Our kitchen is on the second floor of our townhouse so it’s perfect for viewing the birds. I’ve watched the babies for almost a week, and I can see their heads as they stretch for their feeding. I’ve got great photographs!

How much longer can these three babies squeeze into the nest as they grow and when will they step out to learn how to fly? It seems that both parents come and go with food. I’ve seen what appeared to be insects and even bees in their beaks and now I see some worms too. Is that a typical diet and when will the young eat on their own? Lastly, if one or two should fall, is it safe for me to put them back in the nest or on the branches around the nest? C.H. Dear C.H.,

It seems that you have a perfect bird’s eye view, no pun intended! The eggs hatch approximately two weeks after they are laid. The first meals are regurgitated by the parents deep into the young birds’ throats and since you are seeing the whole insects and worms being fed to them now, I suspect the young are close to about a week of age or more. That means you might see them start to emerge from the nest soon since they do so after about ten days after hatching. By two weeks of age, they are usually out.

The diet that you have observed is diet for these birds and when they step out of the nest, they will slowly start to eat food presented to them on their own. Within days after fledging, the birds start learning how to fly on their own. If they fall to the ground, the parents find them and help feed them for a few days as they stay at ground level learning to fly. If you do find one of the fledglings on the ground, it is safe to place them back in the tree near the nest to protect them from the environment. By two weeks after leaving the nest, most have learned how to fly and feed themselves and off they go. Our younger son will graduate from college this weekend and he will fly on his own like his older brother but, unlike the birds, we will still be here for them. That’s life.