A Robin Feathering Her Nest...Should Choose a Good Location

A few weeks ago, I noticed our dog Coraline “Cory” staring intently at the holly bush in the front yard. A second later, I was startled by a robin flying out of it. Sure enough, there was a nest in the bush, filled with four pretty little blue eggs. The only problem was the nest was situated about 30 inches from the ground, the same height as a Golden Retriever’s mouth.

Although our dogs know to leave our chickens alone, small birds really bring out their natural prey drive. After witnessing our sweet natured Golden Retriever, Chardonnay, flush, catch and instantly kill a baby bird on a hike once, I realized that she sees chickens and birds as different creatures. Cory, our Shar-pei mix, has an even stronger prey drive and focused on the robin’s nest every time she went outside. Cory is a very vertical dog, so although she’s smaller than Chardonnay, jumping up to grab the nest is well within her capabilities. We knew this was going to be trouble.

“Survival of the fittest,” rationalized my son. I cursed the ignorance of the mother robin for choosing such a low spot to raise her brood. Last year, the nest was in a maple tree, 15 feet up. Sorry, the thought of our dogs killing a nest of robins was too much.

The robins starting hatching so we knew we needed to do something. Jay and I found some old rusty fencing material and surrounded the holly bush, using a couple of old stakes to hold it steady. Being so low to the ground, it was easy to monitor the family as the little robbies emerged. The big surprise was that unlike chicken chicks which are fully feathered and adorable, newly hatched robin chicks are naked, their black eyes bulging underneath their closed eyelids. Not exactly cute; they reminded me of inch-long, miniature rubber chickens.

Two Days Old

I did some research on the American Robin, and found that the chicks go from naked to leaving the nest within two weeks. The newly fledged robins can’t fly too high or far yet, but will seek refuge in low branches or in bushes. The parents continue to feed and watch over the fledgling robins for another two weeks until they become fully functional fliers. Robins typically raise two or three broods each spring/summer, building a new nest for each family. They have concentrated, in and out parenting during the summer so they can take the rest of the year off. Still, even with their parents’ watchfulness, only about 25% of all robin chicks live to be adults.



Rusty Robin Fencing

I always heard as a child that one should never touch a baby wild animal because the mother will smell human and abandon her young. Now that I’m a backyard chicken hobbyist of three years, I’ve learned that birds have a very poor sense of smell. They use sight and sound to navigate through life. Young birds found on the ground should be left alone unless they are in imminent danger. The parents are around watching. However, one should never handle eggs found in a nest as the incubation process is complicated and the embryo inside can easily be killed if jostled.

We remained vigilant over the nest without trying to be intrusive and our rusty fence did its job of protecting the robin family from our dogs. We are well aware that snakes are easily tempted by a nest of birds and the fence could easily assist a snake trying to reach the nest. I have seen four-foot black snakes climbing fences or on top of tables, reaching toward nests of chirping Phoebes and Bluebirds. Ironically, I knew that our dogs would discourage any snakes, at least during the day. Fortunately for the robin, the babies were very quiet and attracted little attention. 

One Week Later

The last time I saw the chicks in the nest was a few days ago, looking like fat people in a crowded subway, wishing their neighbor wore deodorant and their stop couldn’t come soon enough.  I waited two days too long to go back and get a picture, because when I did, the nest was empty already. 

Taking Advantage of My Mother's Day Power

Mother's Day and my birthday are the two days out of the year when my family, which includes two teenagers, feels obligated to do what I want.  I kind of like that power of being the queen for the day, justified by memories of living my life around those of my children for so long.  Last Mother's Day, I blogged about how we went to a butterfly pavillion where my daughter Kelsey faced her fear of beautiful bugs. 

I had read last month in The Day newspaper (yes, we actually read a physical paper; also comes in handy later when one wants to start a fire in the woodstove) about Beltane Farm.  Beltane Farm is a small goat farm in Lebanon, CT, offering tours and cheese tastings every Sunday in May.  I had been interested enough in visiting that I'd put the dates on my calendar as a reminder although I never mentioned it to anyone else. 

Here I was on Mother's Day morning, waiting for the day's planned event of a cookout at 1 pm.  The problem was that the farm is only open to the public from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  With a lunch planned right in the middle of that, it would be a tight schedule.  Husband Jay was already psyched up to cook, marinating the chicken and cleaning the grill and utensils for their first use this year.  Could I possibly sell him on doing both? 

As a young adult, one of my mottos was, "Be prepared to be spontaneous."  Although I'm fairly certain that motto was referring to birth control, I could apply the same idea to visiting a goat farm.  Jay balked at the idea of just picking up and leaving.  He argued that it would take 45 minutes to get out there (actually it took 30 minutes, but Jay has a tendency to exaggerate), he had a law school exam to study for, his daughter Erin and the grandkids were supposed to come over for lunch, he's cooking, etc.  Not giving in, I gave him the option to stay home or just calling Erin and changing the lunch time to a supper time.  Reluctantly, Jay agreed and changed plans with Erin.  It was Mother's Day, he had to be nice to me, right? 

Tyler, who just got home from USC this past Friday, was still asleep at 10:30 a.m. when this discussion was going on.  Being a college student, he was better prepared to be spontaneous and quickly got dressed.  Besides, Tyler loves goat cheese so he had a different motivation.  Kelsey doesn't like to eat anything different, but was up for a trip involving animals with cloven hooves. 

Tyler and Kelsey being greeted by a young goat

Within 15 minutes, we had the whole family in the van, ready to go.  Jay had his notes to study so I drove to the farm, thanking my family first for going along with my whims.  The first thing we noticed when we got to the farm was the kids (as in baby goats) on dog leashes being held by a woman.  My uncertain family lit up as the farm dog, a gorgeous collie, greeted us.  Kelsey, who has a strange fear of butterflies and other insects, has no problem with other creatures that share our space (including snakes).  The kids (baby goats) won us over with their cuteness and fondness for sucking on our fingers.  Jay immediately commented on how beautiful the farm was with its pond, barns, property, friendly people and animals.  "Glad you came?" I asked. "Go ahead, admit it, once again I had a great idea." 

I expected 15-year-old Kelsey to get a thrill at seeing the goats, cow and donkey as we don't have those animals at home.  She got equally excited with the two farm dogs, cat, chickens and the multitude of tadpoles in the pond.  Uh, we have those animals at home Kelsey.  Critters are always more appealing in someone else's yard I guess.

We tasted all the cheeses and narrowed our purchases down to four kinds to bring back, the Chevre, Harvest Moon, Vespers and Riscotta Fresca.  We could have easily brought back one of each, but I tried to show some restraint.  If any of you are repulsed at the sound of the words "goat cheese", I advise you to free your minds.  My absolute favorite is the Chevre with Herbs de Provence.  Finicky Kelsey found she liked the Harvest Moon cheese, which has a harder, cheddar-like consistency.  For those of us who love cheese but have mild lactose intolerance, goat cheese is the solution. 

Sacrificing my fingers as goat pacifiers

After about an hour, we said good-bye to the wonderful folks at Beltane.  We stopped on the way home to pick up a loaf of French bread and devoured two of our four cheeses as soon as we got in the door.  My family is happy I pushed them to go there and I had a memorable Mother's Day thanks to the goat farm.  It's over seven more months until my birthday....what will I force them to do next?

Mother's Day Addendum

I added a link to Snapfish on my previous blog, not thinking that viewers would have to set up a Snapfish account in order to see them.  Sorry, but I didn't know of a better way to display all the photos (I edited it down to 30) as doing anything creative on Blogspot is an exercise in extreme frustration.  So I'll add a few more photos now to give you a sample.


Amanda

Kelsey persuading a bug to join her

Jay's friend stayed on his shirt for over an hour

Tyler trying to look nonchalant

Benjamin trying to blow the butterfly off his shoulder

A Terrific Mothers Day

I had a very full and fulfilling Mothers Day yesterday.  I got some nice cards and gifts, but more importantly were the non-material gifts I received.

We had the grand kids over while their mother (Jay's daughter) worked.  Usually Tyler and Kelsey are too caught up in their teenage lives to spend time with a 5 and 8 year-old, but Ben persuaded Tyler to play with them outside for quite awhile, giving Jay a needed break so he could study for his last law school final this week.  Ben adores Tyler even though Tyler barely speaks to him.  It's part of that older boy worship and I've spoken to Tyler about how his thoughtful, more sensitive nature could be a positive influence on Ben, a kid who sometimes enjoys misbehaving for the sake of attention.  It was rewarding to see all three kids outside, laughing as Tyler bounced them on the trampoline, then showing them his back flip and different tricks on the swing set. 

One of my Mothers Day requests was to visit the Butterfly Pavilion in Norwich.  Kelsey has had a fear of butterflies ever since she had a nightmare  a few years ago in which evil butterflies ate peoples' faces.  Irrational, I know.  Logical explanations on the anatomy and nature of butterflies she understood, but her fear was real.  Amazing that I have child afraid of bugs at all considering my fascination with all animals, even the creepy, crawly ones.  I'm the type of person who would rather pick up a spider (not with my bare hand) and carry it safely outside than squish it.  Kelsey is fine with snakes and rodents, but a basket case when it comes to most insects. 

So against Kelsey's wishes, we all (Jay, myself, Tyler, Kelsey, Amanda and Ben) went to experience a tent full of Monarch and Painted Lady butterflies.  I gave Kelsey my camera to give her something to do, focus on the beauty instead of reacting in fear to one landing on you.  It worked; within minutes Kelsey was trying to get a butterfly on her finger.  Visitors were given "nectar" to dip their fingers in and instructed to hold their fingers in front of butterfly to see if it would crawl on your finger and lick it.  We were not to touch the wings as removing the protective coating can harm the butterfly.  Children were everywhere, amazed at the creatures on their little hands.  Kelsey joined in the amazement, wanting to stay longer than the rest of us.  She is very proud of her photos although my favorites are the ones I took of my daughter, conquering her fears.  To see more pictures, click on the link below. 


http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3971419008/a=24227156_24227156/

Bat Story

Although the picture to the right isn't of the best quality, it does show a strange creature in the left corner of the triangular eave on our house. This is our resident bat. He or she lives in the eave at the very top of the roof on the outside of the house. A screen keeps it from entering through the attic. Jay happened to spot "Batty" this past weekend peering out from its vantage spot. It was difficult for my camera to zoom in close enough to get a good shot. The rest of photos which follow are taken by professionals.

The point? I'm not afraid of bats or creepy critters that cause fear in most people. I try to recognize the purpose and uniqueness of all the creatures, even snakes, many insects, bats, rodents, lizards, spiders, moths... you get the picture. The animals I can't stand are cock roaches, mosquitoes, horse flies, ticks and other parasites. The bat living in our belfry is encouraged, knowing how useful they are at eating mosquitoes. Did you know that some species of bats consume an average of 500 to 1000 mosquitoes an hour? I want more bats around my house!

Speaking of bats, this brings up a negative aspect of this amazing creature.....they can easily carry rabies. So it's not just the average human fear of a blood-sucking, ugly, skin-covered creature that flies at night and sparks vampire movies, there's the fatal disease factor which is a real concern should one get bitten. The reader should note that only Vampire Bats drink blood; they live in South America and tend to prey upon livestock.

Last summer I was away at a cat show in New York and talking to Jay on the phone that evening. Suddenly, Jay said, "I gotta go, there's a bat in the house!" About 15 minutes later, Jay called back to report that he'd been bitten by the bat. Now, how often have we pet owners said that there's no need for us to vaccinate our cats against rabies because they never go outside? Bats and raccoons don't go in houses, right? Well, this bat did. Apparently, when Jay had opened the back door to let Chardonnay, our dog, back in the house, the bat slipped in unnoticed. Either it was flying around the light getting bugs and flew in or it was nestled in the corner of the doorway and the suction of the door opening pulled it in the house. Either way, Jay noticed the cats and the dog going crazy then he saw the bat.

Someone else holding a bat - don't try this at home!

Being home alone, Jay couldn't tell someone to go into the basement to get the fishing net, his first thought. He was afraid to leave the bat unwatched for fear that he'd lose sight of it. The bat flew down the length of the hall to the dining room, cats and dog in frenzied pursuit. As it came back toward the kitchen where Jay stood, it went toward Jay's head. He instinctively put his hand up to deflect it and the bat bit him on the finger. Well, that was the bat's mistake. Jay grabbed my raincoat of the back of the nearby chair and swung it, bringing the bat to the floor underneath the jacket. I don't know quite how he killed the little guy and I don't want to know.

Once I found out what happened, I questioned Jay several times about how close the cats had gotten to the bat, was there any chance one had been bitten? The dog is up to date on rabies shots, but I'd allowed the cats who had retired from showing to lapse. A bat's teeth are so sharp and its bite can be so small, it can go unnoticed. Jay teased me later about being more concerned about the cats than I was about him. Yeah, well humans don't have to have their heads cut off to test them, animals do.
Jay ended up in the Urgent Care on a Saturday night. The doctor recommended that since it could take until Tuesday to get the rabies test back on the bat, it would be dangerous to not to begin the rabies series of shots right away, just in case. Jay was given a schedule of when he would have to come back in for follow-up shots, at least four more times. The fact that the bat came in the house was not good as a healthy wild animal normally won't do that. Jay got 6 shots, including one in the bitten finger.

I called our vet in a panic on Monday morning to get a list of our cats whose rabies vaccinations had expired and brought those cats in immediately. I learned that many professionals who work with animals are vaccinated against rabies, including my vet. Every year she has to have her rabies titer tested to make sure it is still high enough to protect her. She says she prays each year that her titer level will be good enough so that she doesn't have to have the painful booster shot. This was why the vet wasn't too worried about my cats as she figured their titers were still high enough even with out a recent booster to protect them.

Animal Control came to the house to pick up the bat on Sunday. The officer called back on Monday to report that the bat was healthy. What a relief that Jay didn't have to go through the whole series of shots! As a matter of fact, the Ledyard Animal Control officer was so professional and concerned that Jay sent her supervisor a letter of commendation.

We feel badly that the bat died needlessly, but it left us little choice after it bit Jay. So Jay is now Batman and the designated wild animal wrangler should the need ever arise. We figure he has a good resistant rabies titer now. All of my kitten buyers are advised to have their cats vaccinated for rabies, regardless of the fact the cat won't be allowed out. Before opening the back door at night in the summer now, we look and call out a warning for any bats to move out of the way. I still appreciate the bat, but we really prefer them to stay outside.