So long Mr. Robin

April writing...

About 3 days ago we took some pictures of the 4 baby Robins in a nest by our back door.

*pictures coming soon*

They were so cute, but we were immediately worried, because the minute those little ones left the nest to learn how to fly they would be eagerly met by the mouth of our dogs, Pickle and Olive.

So Cory and I have done our best to check outside before we release the dogs to make sure there were no little Robins learning to fly.

Yesterday evening, I got home from work and went out to check on the birds. One had grown really big (probably the first one that hatched) and I knew that soon he would be leaving the nest. It was really windy and I was playing with the dogs when I saw two of the birds jump out of the nest. One I am pretty sure got the hang of it and must have flown out of the nest (because we haven't been able to find it) the other one flew, well fell over near our grill. Right away I began trying to get the dogs into the house. Pickle listened and ran inside, but Olive had caught something in her sites. I yelled for Pickle to stay inside, Cory to come outside and help me and for Olive to leave the bird alone, I also grabbed the lid to the trash can and began trying to put it between Olive and the bird, who was now trying to hide behind our recycling bin. It worked for a second, but when Cory ran out I got distracted and she ran past the trashcan lid and got the little birdy in her mouth and threw it over her shoulder and then tried to go after it again. Luckily Cory stepped in and got her inside.

By this point the Mom and Dad Robin were squawking so badly that I was afraid they were going to peck ME, (Ask Cory about how that feels, haha!) so I then took the trashcan lid and held it over my head as I checked on the baby bird.

*pictures coming soon*

He was fine...(he probably peed himself, as I almost did) but he was fine. He began hopping away trying to get up in the air. The rest of the evening I checked on him periodically and hoped that he had gotten some air and been able to fly out of the yard, but no luck. We had to let Pickle and Olive out on their leashes, so they wouldn't find him When I went to bed last night, he was still hoppin' around the back yard with Momma bird following closely.

Flash forward to this morning. I hear my hubby get home from work and I hear him let Pickle out...then bring him in and let Olive out. Then I heard the yelling and the squawking. I jumped out of bed to hear him scolding Pickle and putting him in his crate. Then he put Olive back in her crate and walked outside. I slowly walked out too (I was half asleep) and he said, "Pickle got'em babe. He killed the baby bird." He was so sad, and so was I. I walked over to the corner and there was our little friend that we had tried so hard to protect.

Cory had taken Olive out, but before the door could close Pickle had run out for the bird, because while he was going to the bathroom, Cory said he got the scent of the bird. He ran straight for the bird, but before Cory could get to him, the bird was in his mouth. When Pickle finally dropped him, there were feathers in his mouth and our poor little friend was gone.

Now with all that said, yes, we are very sad...but very understanding of the course of nature. It seems that every year Robins lay their eggs in our backyard...and I want to say to them..."Come on, do your research...we have TWO dogs back here. Your babies odds of survival are pretty slim, even with us stepping in to help!"

So sadly, nature ran it's course and we are now 2 baby robins down (1 dead, 1 gone) and 2 to go (2 still in the nest). So we will do our best to keep track and watch out for these little ones. And hopefully Momma Robins are gossipy and she will go out and tell all the other Mommas NOT to lay their eggs in our yard. Not that we don't enjoy watching them hatch...it's just I don't like watching them die. :(