A Peek At Robins

About Robins

I am so blessed to have a robin’s nest on my back porch railing. We always have nests and eggs back there, but they are seldom low enough for me to be able to see inside. This time, I have been able to bear witness to the miracle of the progression from egg to independent bird. Most of this blog will be pictures. I couldn’t stand not showing them!

First, a little information: An American robin goes from egg to leaving the nest in about four weeks, starting with 12–14 days of incubation, followed by 13–16 days as nestlings. The chicks hatch blind and featherless, grow rapidly while being fed by both parents, and leave the nest as “fledglings” that can hop and flutter but not fully fly, continuing to be fed on the ground for another two weeks.

Key Stages of Development:

Incubation (12-14 days): The female lays 3-5 light blue eggs and keeps them warm.
Hatching & Initial Growth (Days 1-7): Chicks hatch with little downy feathers and closed eyes. Both parents bring food.
Feather Development (Days 8-12): Eyes open, feathers cover their bodies, and they start to outgrow the nest.
Fledging (Days 13-16): The young robins, now called fledglings, leave the nest. They are often spotted hopping on the ground and practicing flight for about 1-2 weeks before becoming independent.

Genesis 1:20: “And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.’”

Documenting their little journey:

Psalm 50:11: “I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.”

Psalm 104:12: “The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.”

Job 12:7-9: “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?”

Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”