Fertle Myrtle and her Four Ova

Last week I discovered an egg.

In the past, we've always had three eggs with only one fledgling.  This evening I found FOUR eggs!  We have never had four eggs!

The Joys Of Spring!

The latter half of spring is one of my favorite times of the year. The smell of barbecues and freshly cut grass, the florae are bursting with life and color, and (my personal favorite) the birds. They begin their sunny songs at 6am, they serenade us all day, and they are one of the few species that allow us to witness the beauty of the miracle of life. They build nests in our bushes and trees, and even on/in our homes.

We have a smoke tree right off our porch that is famous for being the location of a robin nest. We have to cut back each spring, and every year we wait anxiously to see if a robin pair will grace us with a nest of little miracles. Yesterday I thought I saw a robin in the smoke tree once or twice but when I looked into the tree I saw nothing, nor did I see anyone coming or going. So I wrote it of as being a breeze. This morning I thought I saw a robin in the tree again, and, much to my surprise, sure enough there was a happy couple checking out the real estate.

Since so many of you enjoyed the photos and following their activity with me the past two years, assuming they chose to build on that little slice of paradise, I will take on my usual role of documenting their journey from nest to empty-nest.

The Good, The Bad, and The Flying

Let's get the not-so-great stuff out of the way first.  Ricky, who was doing great, took a pretty sudden turn on Wednesday.  We got the results of the blood work back, and he has liver disease.  While I was had the vet on the phone, I explained to her Ricky's recent abnormal behavior.  He was huddled in one corner rocking and bobbing his tail and he had hardly eaten since the night before.  He was supposed to go back to the vet last Friday to be boarded while we attended a family thing out of town, but the vet changed it to Thursday.  We ended up taking him in Wednesday night.  On Friday we talked to the vet and she said that he was being more social (coming out of his corner), but was very quiet, not chatty, and was on a feeding tube since he still was not eating.

We got home around 5 this evening, and didn't hear anything while we were gone.  No news is good news!  Had he only gone in for boarding, we would be picking him up tomorrow, but since we don't know how stable he his, we will have to call in the morning and find out.  It sucks since we have to board him again on Thursday because we are leaving town again.  Well, Dad will be here some and then I will be back, but Dad keep an eye on him and doesn't feel comfortable to give him his medicines.  I am crossing my fingers that he'll be home by dinnertime.  :)

Now for the fun stuff!  So, early yesterday morning we had to leave town, but before leaving I had to check on our little baby.  Guess what!  He is no longer a little baby!  He has upgraded from hatchling to fledgling.  For the first time, I saw him standing up, and he was actually on the edge of the nest!  All I could think was "Go get your camera!  This may be the last time you see him!" even though our fledgling last year took about 2 days to decide that it was time to leave the nest.

When we got home this evening, the first thing I did was go outside and peek in the nest.  Much to my dismay and joy, I returned to an empty nest - in every aspect:  no dogs (they're boarded too), no Ricky, no baby. It's always sad to see our fledglings flee, but at the same time you feel proud.  Not that I know first hand, but I imagine it to be similar to seeing your first child's first steps, or dropping your first child off for their first day of kindergarten.  Luckily our little guy has a day or two head start before the dogs come back.  

Also, I don't know if you guys know this, but clicking on the pictures will enlarge them.  :)

Bird-Brained

"Bird-brained" certainly sums it up when it comes to the avian lives at our house.  Ricky is, of course, the main focus of our bird world, and our little hatchling is always a joy to watch.

Ricky went back to the vet yesterday for his 2-3 week recheck.  There is good news and there is not-so-good-potentially-bad news.  First the good news:  Ricky is still full of energy and is still acting like his normal, chatty, goofy self.  He is self-grooming, taking baths, eating a lot, and swing, swing, swinging!  All of these signs say he is on the mend and things will only get better.  He X-rays, on the other hand, say otherwise.  

His X-rays showed that his liver isn't shrinking and isn't getting any better.  They drew blood yesterday to see exactly what is causing his liver to be so inflamed.  The possibilities as of now are cirrhosis, cancer, or something else along those lines.  We hope to hear from the doctor today or Monday with the results of the blood work.  As of now, we are continuing the same medication regimen until we get instructions for our next course of action.

Another diagnosis that we are worried about is congestive heart failure.  This can cause fluid buildup in the abdomen.  Within the last week, I noticed that, at bedtime, Ricky was nestling into a corner at night and leaning very far forward.  This was a sign that we were originally told to watch for (especially if it included tail-bobbing) since birds tend to do that when they are having issues breathing.  Well, when I mentioned this to the vet (and showed her the video I took - see below), she said that the inflamed liver could be making the heart act up and that he might be building up fluid.  During the day he moves around a lot so fluid doesn't sit and build up in any one area.  At night, however, when he wants to sleep, he isn't moving and so the fluid settles and becomes very uncomfortable so he leans forward to disperse it.

Like our little Ricky, our robins come with good news and not-so-good news.  The good news: our little  hatchling is growing every day!  His (just because it's easier than he/she/it) eyes are barely open; they're just little slits.  

 

He is standing up and calling for food.  

He is moving his wings more, and his down is coming in nicely.  There is one egg still in the nest.  We can assume what happened to the other.  Mamma is very attentive to her one hatchling.  He is eating A LOT, so she has barely had time to feed herself.  Mamma has also become very comfortable with me.  Today she fed the little one with my camera snapping pictures just a few feet away.

Here are two videos of feeding time.  He makes the cutest little noises!!  Sorry that it's so shaky and a bit blurry; I wasn't using a tripod.

Life In The Wings

Baby News

So here we are two and a half days after birth and growing fast.  Our little hatchling is desperately trying to hold his head up, flap his wings, and move around the nest.  This one is is definitely a fighter!

As I am writing, I can see Mamma in the yard getting food for her and baby.  She must be feeding him well since he is growing so fast.  Hopefully she doesn't overdo it; she's still got two on the way (yes, there are still two)!!

I am worried about his/her two siblings.  They seem to be taking their time in making their debut.  They are one week late, so I hope nothing is wrong.

Little hatchling moving its little wings (its head is on the right).

Ricky Update  

Mr. Ricky is doing so well!  He spends almost all of his time up on his swing.  He has even been sleeping on his swing which is so true to character.  Ricky has also been chatty chatty chatty!  He has been singing and chatting about 90% of the time that he isn't eating or sleeping!  He has another appointment this Friday with the vet.  He is going to get another chest X-ray to see if/make sure the abdominal mass/obstruction has shrunk.  If so, we can probably start tapering off his meds and maybe in a few weeks he will be able to move to a cage.  Hopefully all goes well!

Declaring One's Independence

Happy Independence Day, my fellow Americans!  Today is a day for celebration!  While the day, first and foremost, is to celebrate our independence from England, I like to use Independence Day to reflect on the accomplishments and goals that I achieved in my life independently.  My birth was not one of them.  The hatching of a baby bird, however, falls solely on the babe and his/her little egg tooth.

Which brings me to the main point of this post: WE HAVE A BABY!!!  It couldn't be a better day to declare one's independence from the egg!  He/SHe is very tiny and oh so cute!  Robins usually take 10-14 days to hatch, and I was getting worried since today is day 15.  Hopefully within the next 24-48 hours we will have hatchlings two and three.  We look forward to the babies every year, and every year is just as exciting as the one before.  We have yet to see Mama feed this one, but the good news is she will do it often, so there will be many photo ops.

It is hard not to get attached to these little guys and gals especially when you have been tracking their progress from nest to flight.  Each year, we feel like aunts, uncles, grandparents, surrogate parents, and so on to these little wonders of life.  We know we have to let "mother nature take its course", but it's nearly impossible with the cradle-robbing blue jays and other threats lurking on the horizon.  It's almost inevitable that something horrific will happen to at least one of these babies; unfortunately, it's just how nature works.  Even more unfortunate is the fact that it would be wrong to intervene (although the "extended family" has been know to do that!).

I know that I haven't been keeping up with posting about the nest, but to be honest, not much has happened.  Mama had been sitting on the nest constantly so I wasn't able to write much.  Now the excitement has picked up again, and I can't wait to see what happens!

Back to normal?

Ricky is making huge strides everyday!  This past Monday he went back for a recheck to make sure he is headed on the right path.  Dr. Richards said he has lost some weight, and we have our fingers crossed that it is because the abdominal mass is subsiding.  He is much calmer when I reach in to get him so I can give him his medications.  He got the go-ahead from the doc to climb, perch, swing, fly, play, all that good stuff.

We got home from the vet and I realized that none of his toys in his cage would fit in his tank.  I went to Petsmart and got a new swing and a new toy for him.  It was hard to find one that would be big enough for him but not too big for the space, and it had to be attachable with a twist-tie.  I found a toy and a swing for him.  I originally put both in his tank, but I think it was a bit overwhelming.  I took the toy out a few days ago and today is the first day we have seen him up on his new swing!

Ricky perched on his swing.

After taking that last picture, he turned around on his perch as if to say, "Here, Mom... get my good side!"

We are almost out of the woods!  Ricky goes back to the vet next week for his 2-3 week recheck.  They will do another X-ray to see if the mass in his abdomen has in fact subsided.  If it has, the we will begin weening him off his meds in the hopes that whatever it was that made him so ill is behind us.  Of course, if his symptoms return, back to the vet, back to the meds.

When we first took him in, we were preparing ourselves for a permanent farewell.  Much to our surprise (and joy!) it wasn't.  We are all so very thankful that he has come as far as he has; it is a true miracle.  Keep up the work, big guy!