Robin rescue?

My next door neighbor was at the door yesterday afternoon to let me know that one of the baby robins fell out of the nest, was running around my backyard and was not able to fly. So I went out back and found this little one in the grass. So I took this image and then put the camera down and tried to gently pick it up and return it to the nest. After a running around the back yard like I was trying to catch a greased pig, I was able to gently scoop the baby up and reunite it with its sibling in the nest. I am a robin hero!....

Or not! The robin promptly hopped right back out of the nest and was attempting to fly but just could'nt get off the ground.

After a couple of minutes, it made its way through some bushes and I hav'nt see it since. Hopefully 'lil robin found a safe haven until it can fly.

White House Photo Op

Chicago Tribune Photog Pete Souza posted this real-time White House photo Op in the Oval Office with "dubya" and Aussie PM John Howard. Check out all 27 seconds of it here

Worlds largest pinhole camera

Check out the legacyphotoproject.com and click on the link for the worlds largest camera. Sometime this month a team of photographers are turning a former hanger on a decommisioned base into a giant pinhole camera. Be sure also to look at the galleries of images from the Legacy Project. Since 2002, they have been working on a long-term photographic study of a closed air base that is slated to be turned into a giant urban park in Southern California. PDN online has a story about it here.

mmmm..... worms!

Now that the doves have moved on I thought I would post a photo of mama robin coming in for a landing with a yummy worm for the 2 babies in her nest. Mama landed on the fence and when she saw that the coast was clear, she popped into the nest and the youngsters chowed down.

They grow up so fast...

It rained pretty heavily during the whole weekend and I was a little concerned that the nests might be affected in some way, well it appears that one of the squabs is gone. Did it fall out? Was it a cat's lunch? or was it ready leave home early? I'm not sure. All I know is that when I went to check, only one squab was perched near the nest.

Later on in the day I noticed the squab in the garden following a grownup learning how to find food. After that they roosted for a while on top of the neighbor's shed.

The nest is now empty and the squab born only last week has taken wing.

Dove update

I had a peek at the Dove's nest today and found that there are 2 squabs. They grow rather quickly don't they! Mama or Daddy showed up and fed them some pigeon milk

Cool fact: Mourning Doves feed their nestlings crop milk or "pigeon milk," which is secreted by the crop lining. This is an extremely nutritious food with more protein and fat than is found in either cow or human milk. Crop milk, which is regurgitated by both adults, is the exclusive food of hatchlings for three days, after which it is gradually replaced by a diet of seeds

A couple of minutes later, the parent flew off to find more food.

Nest Surprise

I was out in the backyard this evening and noticed mama robin was out of her nest, being curious, I reached out and stuck my camera over the nest to see how many eggs might be there. When I looked at my screen I was surprised to find they already hatched! Although of the three, one doesn't look like it made it. I moved out of the area and mama returned a minute later.

Squab has arrived.

Yesterday morning I checked on the nests and nothing new to report. After lunch however I checked the Dove's nest and papa was sitting tall and proud with a grey ball of feathers lying in front of him. How do I know it is dad? from my exhaustive Googling I found that the male takes the day shift and mama does the night shift. Want to know more? go here.

Nest updates

Not much new to report. In the backyard, the Dove and the Robin are sitting comfortably in their respective nests keeping those eggs warm, Should be some hatching going on soon! Also it appears there is another nest in the front yard, belonging to a robin as well. It's pretty well hidden so I can't report much on that one. My contributions to the nest building it appears, were completely ignored. I will try a different approach for next year, perhaps something a tad less colourful?

G'mornin' Dove

I mentioned in the last post that a Mourning Dove has taken residence in the trees in the back yard. I took a little walk around the area where I thought the nest was and couldn't see it, I took a couple steps forward and I was face to face with a little pair of black eyeballs looking right back at me. I googled for some info and on their nesting habits and if I am correct, there should be a couple of nestlings, also called squabs hatching later this week. Stay tuned!

Nest Project 1st update

The robins have started gathering nesting materials today and are building in the backyard. Also a Mourning Dove has started building a nest in the back yard but neither has shown any intrest in my contributions thus far. Perhaps they are waiting to build the nest before decorating?

Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day

Sunday is Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day, I made a crude pinhole out of the body cap from my digital SLR and played a little. This photo is the best result of my 1st attempt.

Here are couple of other pinhole resources, including the SPAMera! or you could even turn your bedroom into a camera obscura. If want to get really involved, there is software too.