Operation Baby Robin Rescue Has Begun (Updated)

This morning when I took Shandi out to pee at 6:30am, Mama Robin was nowhere around. Odd. She normally made at least one trip or was hunting on the lawn while I was outside. When I came home at lunch today, I sat outside for awhile. Ten minutes passed. Twenty minutes passed. Thirty minutes passed. No sign of Mama. All four babies were still chirping and craning their little necks, calling out for Mama.

Throughout the afternoon and the course of the evening, I did not see Mama once. I've read up on robins over the past week and no where did it say that their feedings lessen as time goes on. It's only day six today and the babies are still very much reliant on Mama. When she didn't show up at dusk, I started to really panic. I sat in the corner of one of our planters and dug up as many worms as I could find. My plan was that if Mama didn't show up by the time I had dug up the worms and vacuumed out the van, I would feed the birds myself.

By 9:00pm, Mama was nowhere to be seen. I dragged (drug?) out the extension ladder in an attempt to get up to the security light. Hmmm...pregnant lady + panic + the beginning of tears + wanting to climb up a ladder that's too large for the area = not a smart idea. Instead I phoned my dad and asked him to bring over the step ladder. Mike was home by the time my dad showed up, so Mike decided he would go up and attempt to feed. Only we needed tweezers of some type.

I wasn't about to use my good tweezers, so I rummaged through my bathroom to find a suitable back-up. I went back outside and announced, "All I have is an eye lash curler, some bobby pins and a hair clip". We went with the hair clip (the large, plastic, black kind that salons use). Mike went up the ladder and saw that all four birds were sleeping (or breathing at least). He tried to do his best robin imitation (which were really just kissing noises since Mike can't whistle) and I kept reminding Mike not to get the hair clip too dirty since I need to use it in the morning.

In the end, none of the babies ate. Granted, it was passed dusk and they typically don't eat after 9:00pm. So, if the babies have the strength to survive the night and if Mama still hasn't shown up in the morning, we will bring the birds down out of the nest and care for them ourselves. I've already found a plastic planter pot that we will line with a towel, some paper towel and small bottles filled with warm water. Mike was rather excited to give up the chance to go to the wedding to stay home and play surrogate Mama. Not that Mike doesn't like my dad's family - he just doesn't like wearing suits.

While I am unsure of how this is all going to play out or whether we will be succussful in this bird-raising endeavour, I am positive that it is going to be a very interesting next couple of days. Stay tuned for some ridiculously cute baby bird pics on Sunday. And, yes, I am totally going to name the babies :-)

Update: Operation Baby Robin Rescue Has Ended. When Mike climbed up the ladder this morning to take the babies out, he quietly said, "They didn't make it". And I was instantly reverted back to being an 8 year old who had just discovered that her hamster had died and I started to cry. We brought the nest down intact and I sat with the babies for a little bit while Mike dug a hole underneath our favourite tree/bush in the back yard. The babies were all snuggled together, each one's head laying on the next one's back in a tight little circle in what I imagine was a vain attempt to keep warm last night. I placed the entire nest with the four little bodies into the hole and gently covered them with dirt. I apologized to the babies for not rescuing them sooner (I regret not taking the nest down last night when we knew for sure that two of them were still alive, but it was dark and starting to storm) but thanked them for the week of entertainment and smiles that they provided me.

And I'm still crying as I type this. Chalk it up to a combination of loving all animals a little too much plus my pregnancy hormones and you have yourself one sad lady. Poor little guys...