[ THE - KaliEN ]

This is the last video I took of the babies yesterday, May 6th around 11am. Their eyes are open and they have grown sooo big ❤️. I didn’t get any opportunity like last year to take close look of them because mom is very defensive of her nest. I finally gathered my courage and fed mom fruits yesterday. She did attack me, but she also ate the fruits immediately under my presence! The weather has been nice these 2 days so mom doesn’t sit on them as much as before. However, that same night a raccoon attacked the nest around midnight. The camera I installed cannot capture everything, but when momma came back around 5am, all the babies are gone. She stared at the nest for a few minutes, then sat on the nest like she usually does for about 10min and left. Dad never came and mom didn’t come back after this 😢. I’m sure she’s heartbroken and only thing she could do is sit in the empty nest and mourn 💔. Those babies were exactly 1 week old and have gone thru some tough weathers. Dad did an amazing job finding loads of food for them every 10-15min and mom stayed in the nest to keep them warm when it’s 3-5 degrees outside with strong winds. RIP little baby robins. I should’ve put something against those railings to avoid predators, but with mom being so nervous, I didn’t want to get close to the nest to do that project. Little did I know you’re gone be attacked so quickly... I hope the parents can find a safer spot for their next batch of eggs. I admit that this spot is very dangerous and easily accessible by all kinds of predators. I’ve seen a squirrel around there and now a raccoon...

Apr 29, 2023: 2 baby robins hatched

🐣Apollo 🐣Aion

Apr 30, 2023: the other 2 hatched

🐣Aether 🐣Ace

Yep I found another robin nest this year ☺️

Long story short, it’s very close to my deck so I can watch them being fed by momma and daddy, BUT the momma is SUPER agressive. She used to allow me put food near the nest, but since the last baby hatched, she attacks me whenever I’m close to the nest. The dad on the other hand only chirps and flies around me, but never attacks me the way the mom does. So yes, I can easily reach the bird nest without a ladder, but with the momma being there, I was not able to capture any closeup photos after this point 😔. I tried my best to befriend with the momma bird, but she’s too nervous. I still wonder what happened to her because I’ve been feeding her since Apr 27th and she never attacks me.

I’m also extremely bummed that I probably will miss the babies fledge again this time. I will be away next week and I’ll be back on their 13th day... last time they fledged on day 12 😢. However, it’s been a difficult start for these little ones. The weather was super cold and windy this entire week, average about 7-10 degrees, maybe 2-3 degrees at night. It rained everyday and today was the only sunny/warm day. So maybe these babies won’t fledge as early as last time if the weather’s cold.

🎂🎈 Happy 19th Birthday my sweet angel 😺❤️

Today marks your 2nd birthday in Heaven, 19th birthday on Earth. I cannot believe it’s the 2nd year I release a balloon for you up on the 40th floor of my rental condo. I really hope you’re happy and you’re getting everything you’ve ever wanted up there. I’m sure you’re in a better place and you’re being loved and taken care of. ❤️

I promised you I’d get you a heart shaped balloon like you wanted last year, but after talking to the balloon shop people, they told me the heart shaped balloons aren’t the best type to release in the air. They are smaller in size and thus don’t contain as much helium as regular balloons and they tend to fall down as they fly. One of the employees also said they pop a lot easier 😕. So in the end, I changed my mind and went with a golden balloon. I first saw a gold transparent balloon as a sample in the store, but I wanted a more solid colored gold. The first employee told me this is the gold color they have, but the 2nd employee showed me the chrome gold balloon that I immediately fell in love with! This is the golden balloon that I envisioned!! Although it’s a bit more expensive, but who cares, I want to get you the prettiest balloon 🥰

I’ve also told you last night I’d release the balloon in the early afternoon. However, it’s very windy this morning. It’s windy enough out on the streets, I couldn’t imagine releasing a balloon on the 40th floor terrasse!! So I waited. However, starting 2:30-3pm this afternoon, the sky became extremely cloudy. I was scared that it would rain, but the weather announced less cloud around 6pm. I waited until 5pm to buy the balloon. Went back home to decorate and personalize it and drove to my downtown condo with mom. When we went out, it was still very very cloudy. Magically as we drove closer to downtown, the sky slowly cleared up and there was breaks of sunshine!! 😀 I prayed it would stay like this for the rest of the day and it did!! It was still a struggle to release the balloon up on the terrasse, but we made it and it was so beautiful with the sunset ☀️. It was perfect just like you were 🥰

I miss you my puppy 😢. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. Of course I miss you greeting me in the morning or when I get back home. I miss hugging you, petting you, talking to you, playing with you... I miss your purr, your silly faces, your wet nose, your soft fur... But what I also miss is your mischiefs, cleaning after your messes, your angry meows because you wanted food earlier than you deserved, you asking me to open the door but would still sit inside with the door open OR step out and wanting to come back in as soon as I shut the door, chasing after you to brush your teeth, your little judgmental face when I behave silly around you to annoy you, watching you sleep and listening to your snores, push your little tongue in your mouth when it poked out, watching you groom and make weird poses... all the stuff that I took for granted, but I no longer have now 😢

I’m truly living the curse of “you‘ll only cherish someone even more after losing them”. Words cannot describe how much I miss you even after a year. I’ve now realized I’ve never loved anyone in my life because I’ve never felt like this before. I still can’t really look at your photos without holding back my tears. I still choke sometimes when I talk about you. I still blame myself for what happened... I wonder if that scar will ever heal 😔

Alright, let’s stop with all the sad stuff. I hope you had a wonderful day, lots and lots of presents and food, and I hope you received my balloon 🎈

Happy 19th birthday my baby ~

July 13 - Baby robin came back ☺️

I was preparing breakfast this morning when I heard daddy robin and baby robin in the yard. I immediately went out, found them and managed to capture a video of the baby flying. This is a screenshot from the video and we can see how fully grown up he is ❤️ It’s been 2 weeks since the babies fledged, but daddy is still feeding him. He still behaves the same way when daddy brings food: chirp happily while flapping his fully grown wings 😂. I then found them on a neighbouring tree. I saw the daddy feeding the baby twice, but as I got closer the daddy stopped coming back. The baby has lost ALL of its baby hair, none sticking out of the side of his head or on the body. His tail seems fully grown and it looks glamorous with brown and white feathers. He also has the white markings on the left and right side of his tail as seen on the first photo. I read that baby robins grow their tail feathers after they fledge due to lack of space in the nest. Of course, I can’t be 100% certain that this is our robin family, but based on the appearance of the baby, I’m pretty sure they are ours! He’s not very vigilant tho 😅. He was literally taking a nap on that tree and wasn’t aware how super close I was to him lol

July 4 - Baby robin and daddy came back to visit today!! I heard the dad on our deck while I was on the phone. I went out after the phone call and as I approached daddy robin, a baby hopped out of nowhere and was pretty close to me. The daddy flew away shortly after and the baby flew away too after a moment of hesitation. I went back in to grab my phone and hoped to find them again. Sure enough, I found the baby standing at the same spot on the morning of June 30! Here are a few photos.

There’s no way to confirm if that was our baby robin, but from the way it behaved, I’m pretty sure this is! Otherwise, it had to be a baby robin about the same age because he no longer have baby feathers sticking out on the head/body, he can make adult calling sounds, he is good at flying and his tail is longer than last time I saw him. Also, since robins are territorial, that should be our robin daddy on his own territory :) I also saw daddy feeding his baby, so i guess on week 1 after fledging, they mostly focus on flying. The baby doesn’t seem to know to find food in grass because he doesn’t peck around at all. He’s still very intrigued by things and hops around :)

Photos taken on June 28th with both babies. Mom caught a video of daddy robin feeding baby #2 (2nd fledgeling) and you can see how small the baby is next to dad.

I’ve learned so much about birds, especially American Robins thru this journey. I’ve never had an interest for birds, but this experience completely changed me! I’m amazed at how committed both parents are to their kids and how each parent have their role in the family. They are really hard workers and they are amazing parents. They have to build a new nest every time they lay a clutch of eggs, then mom incubate them for about 2 weeks while dad finishes teaching the previous brood of babies and then both parents fly back and forth over 100 times/day to feed these hungry babies.

Today, July 2nd, I discovered a nest of sparrows under another neighbor’s deck. However, that nest is hidden in a boxed area with a tiny opening and I can’t even get a photo of the interior.

These are some photos of the baby Robins my mom took on the day the last two fledged: June 28-29th, 2022.

On June 28, after a day of practice, the 3rd fledgeling finally flew over a neck height wall around 6pm where daddy robin wanted them to follow. The 2nd fledgling was more hesitant. Even on flat ground, he mostly hopped around and didn’t practice flying as much as his sibling. He was also less alert and wouldn’t move even if my mom was super close. My mom followed the robin family until 9pm and the last baby still couldn’t fly over the wall. She was worried whether the little guy would make it to next morning, but luckily he did.

On June 29, the next morning, both mom and dad robin came to encourage their last baby. The baby flew much better, was more alert too and seems more confident. Considering how fast they grow, 1 day makes a huge difference! Finally, just before noon, the last baby flew over the wall and was greeted by daddy!

On June 30, I woke up around 10:30am hearing robin calls. I got home around 2am that day after 3 days of intense work hours so I was completely exhausted. I still wanted to sleep but I didn’t wanna miss my last opportunity seeing the robin family. Mom had eagle eyes and quickly spotted a baby robin on the edge of the deck just below momma/daddy bird. As we approached, he escaped to the stairs, hopped a few steps up and then flew away following daddy. The baby was able to fly about 2 floors height at that point and we are so super proud of him ☺️. We believe this was the 2nd fledgling (the last one who flew over the wall). Maybe daddy thought he needed more practice!

That was the last time we saw them. I was lucky enough to see one of the babies fly with my own eyes and I’m so greatful that they came back to say bye!

I left 3 blueberries in the white fruit platter on our deck hoping they would come eat them, but it’s been 3 days and the blueberries are still there…

June 27 - Day 12

Mom sent me a video she took around 9pm and there was only 2 babies in the nest. I guess one of them already fledged earlier in the day.

June 28 - Day 13

Today around 7:30am, mom found one of the babies in the driveway directly below the nest. She guided the baby to the grass so he doesn’t get hit by a car. Later in the morning, she saw the last baby outside of the nest, probably thinking about leaving, but can’t commit to it. Mom decided to help the baby go down the nest because it’s a hard location to fledge for the first time. The nest is under the deck. The only way out is to jump directly down and fly upwards after. You can’t fly straight out of the nest because you’ll hit a beam. So mom grabbed the ladder, held the baby in her palm and as she climbed down the ladder, the baby fledged on its own out of her hand. She was only 2 steps away from the pavement when the baby flew away. Then mom watched the daddy feed and guide his babies thrughout the day. She helped getting rid of a cat that alarmed the dad robin and gained trust from the dad.

I’m EXTREMELY SAD that I cannot be home this week to watch the babies fly for the first time and say goodbye to them. However, I did sense my cat today during my lunch break. I haven’t cried at work or thought about my cat at work for a long time, but today, suddenly, I had a flashback of me kissing and hugging her, holding her little face in my hands, watching bird videos together with her sitting in my lap. It was really random, but all my emotions came out and I started crying. This flashback came so suddenly out of nowhere. I had to tell myself to calm down and stop crying because I have to go back to work. Then later at night, mom told me the baby birds flew away today. I guess my cat sent me these memories to tell me she’s gonna watch the baby birds for me and make sure they’re okay.

Mom told me the baby bird she helped down the nest is doing pretty good. He’s able to fly very short distances. However, the one she found in the driveway doesn’t seem as agile as the other one. We think that’s the 2nd baby because he had the least hair. That baby can only hop around, can’t spread his wings as well as his sibling. He mostly stayed hidden in the shades and waits for daddy to feed him. Mom followed them around until 9pm and that baby still didn’t progress much. I told her to keep track of them tomorrow to make sure they both make it.

June 26 - Day 11

Their wings are growing fast and I am getting sad 😔

The babies are growing wayyy too fast for me to be ready to let them fly away. The worst thing is I might miss them leaving the nest because I’m away AGAIN for 3 days...

They are much more aware now and know how to hide and protect themselves. I think momma taught them important lessons last night before leaving them sleep on their own.

They immediately hide and get their head tucked in when I showed up. If I approach my hand, 2 of them will try to peck me. One of the babies is less defensive than his siblings. Unlike yesterday and the days before, they didn’t groom themselves or moved. I had to gently touch the wing for it to spread out so I can follow the feather growth journey. And yep, a lot more feather compared to yesterday.

I also noticed momma (or daddy) are getting extra alert now. Last night when I brought them fruits around 6pm, mom refused to fly down to the nest because I was there. I stayed still and waited for more than 5min and I decided to leave. Then I came back 1-2 min later and momma still hasn’t moved. The same thing happened today right after I took these photos. Momma was actually pretty close to me. As I climbed down the ladder, she chirped at me and flew up to the deck railings. Then she refused to come feed the babies even tho she had a bunch of bugs in her mouth. I know she’s being extra careful because the babies are getting more independent and they might fledge soon. The last few days, she was getting pretty used to me and didn’t mind me watching her feed the babies, but everything changed last night.

I read that robins normally fledge around 12-16 days old. I’m pretty sure they won’t be ready to leave tomorrow, but will they wait for me to be back on day 15? I sure do hope so, but I guess we’ll find out!

June 25 - Day 10

Another video of a baby cleaning himself and then accidentally stepped on his sleepy sibling who tells him to back off 😂

June 25 - Full display of growing wings with little feather at the tip, white region without blood and rachis with blood supply.

June 25 - Day 10

Momma feeding babies worms and 2 of my blueberries ☺️