Hi all-

Baby robin- I found a young robin on the ground Thur a.m
I  went to see what was moving in the grass and saw one
robin too young to fly.  I didn't know of any nests close
by, but we had high winds and rain the night before.
So here it was.  Two adult robins were in a nearby tree
They were feeding the little one- So What to do?
With the outside cats around and other critters this
robin wasn't going to last.  I tried to put it in the
tree but it just hopped down again- Then I tried
to protect it using a toad house that I had made out
of a terra cotta pot.  That proteccted the bird
but the parents couldn't find it.  So I put the
bird on shredded white paper towels in the
pot and put the whole thing in the tree. That
worked. The adults fed it and stayed with
it all day- even with nearby mowing-
trimming and carting away a dumpster.

Then evening came . What to do?  It
was going to be cold that night and
more critters.  So I got my cat carrier
ready- a towel in it and a towel to
cover it.  I put the baby in  a little
box and put in a spare room in the
carrier.  My 2 cats couldn't get
the room.  The bird was safe for the night.
And the adult birds threatened me
when I came near th little one to box it  up.

Would the bird survive the night?
Would the adults be back in the morning
and resume feeding.?

I set the alarm for 4:30 a.m. Friday. I
got up and listened for robins singing
The baby was still alive.  I cleaned out
the pot with new paper towels and put
the bird in it.  In a minute it was peeping
and the adults came right away and resumed
care of the bird!  Success for one night.
How long will this continue?

I was on cat patrol to shoo away any cats
and checked the baby robin every couple
of hours. Everything went fine during the
day.  Then about  8 p.m. I brought the bird
in again for the night.  Would it survive
the night and would the parents find it again?

Well, I set the alarm for 5:00 am Sat.
put the bird out again this morning.
Success again. And now I am thinking
this could take awhile before the
bird can fly.  With the windows
open I can hear what is happening.
I heard the alarm of the adults
and went out and chased a cat
from under the tree.
So this bird has survived 2 days
in a substitute nest and 2 nights inside.

A miracle.

The next morning I put the bird out again. It was Sunday.
It was OK.  Then a few hours later I checked
it and it had died.  Sometimes you have success-
many times you fail.  You continue to try.

Lynne Matthews,  Burlingtton
Summer, 2002

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