So far, all four (nee eggs) chicks are OK. I have determined that there are two adult robins attending the nest, as I saw one departing as another arrived. Finding googly grubs and wiggly worms is an exhausting task, no?
Only one parent sits on the nest at night, and there are extended periods during the day when the nest is unattended. I can only assume the pair are out foraging.
When I watched this afternoon, any noise near the nest caused the babies to pop up, beaks open and ready to receive noms. A person walked by and whomever it was must have heard their sudden peeping, they carried on until a motor noise got too loud. I think a parent brought them a fat winged bug while I watched.
Here in Utah I have small, yellow-billed black birds whose young follow them as they forage, their mouths open and calling to be fed - usually earlier than I’d like to get up.
Sometimes I see a parent drop a bug into a waiting mouth, then extract it and put it into some other mouth. Maybe a taste is all it takes?
The road isn’t that close to the nest (200 ft?), but the mic sure is sensitive. If one car or motorcycle goes by per minute, we consider that to be a rush hour, at least in the summer. In the winter, it’s one per hour at most.
The white noise you hear – today, at least – is from the waves on Lake Michigan. 6-footers, I estimate. It’s wild and sunny. Pretty much drowns out the peeps from the chicks, but all four seem to be doing fine.
You’re lucky, something wipe out the nest in my Holly bush last night. No chicks left and the nest looks beat up.
Ornithologists might think this is normal, but it seems gross to me. Often when a parent robin brings a juicy bug or worm and feeds a chick, one of the chicks upends itself and a white, marshmallow-like blob instantly extrudes from its rear end. The momma/poppa bird gobbles it up. Is this excrement, and the standard disposal method? Sheesh, birds are weird.
Yes all around. :eek:
Yeah, that’s a fecal sac. Keeps the nest tidy.
Ask me about rabbits, and their digestive cycle!
Someone just brought back a GIGANTIC worm. I thought that no way can one baby get all that down, but I was wrong!
So that explains the gigantic fecal sac. And tidy nest.
The nest is getting a little crowded. 4 beaks and 8 proto-wings.
Nature is icky, especially to city kids.
Assuming it’s based on something odiferous, there would probably be no issue; birds have a remarkably poor sense of smell. That business about not handling a baby bird because the mama bird will smell your hands and abandon it is BS. There are plenty of reasons to not handle a fledgling, but odor isn’t one of them.
Growing fast! IIRC, it only takes a few weeks for them to fledge.
The nest is smaller than it was just yesterday!
Just saw Poppa show up twice in rapid succession with bugs. Also nearby human activity :D.
Hey, I saw you take their picture!
There are some things Papa Robin doesn’t do well, so I have to step in. I’ll leave the bugs to him.
The chicks sure are flapping a lot. They look like they are going to fall out of the nest any minute. I guess that’s how they learn to fly.
Right now, Mama or Papa (can’t tell which) is trying to squeeze in the nest with the babies. Tight fit.
I’d be tempted to dig up a big nightcrawler and drop it down one of those gaping beaks.
Yes, there’s a lot of flapping, pushing and shoving. Things sure are getting squeezey.
I tuned in late last night and only one parent was in the nest. I guess there isn’t room for both of them. The light was still on and whoever it was tried to get an easy bite with the bugs it attracted. 
One of them just carried off one of those white sacks.
Although I’m pretty sure there are two parents involved (I’ve seen one come as the other goes), I’ve never seen both perching on the nest at the same time. Only one sits at night – could be either one, I can’t the difference.