Matt Philbin
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Buy and Sell: On
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 Sad Story...Advice Needed | |
Greetings all!
About 5 weeks ago, a couple robins built a nest on my kids' cedar play set. It was right out in the open near the climbing wall, and seemed like it was ready to go. Since I am raising 2 little bird nerds, they quickly agreed to not play on that part of the set or disturb the nest in any way. However, the robins probably didn't realize that they'd have to share this area, despite the fact that my kids never got within 10' of the nest. So, they decided to relocate and start over in one of my nearby trees. And a new nest was built. I should note that this new nest is probably 12' up in the tree, and fairly well hidden by foilage. I never got to see the eggs, but eventually noticed the adult going back and forth towards where the nest was, and decided to watch more closely one day. At first, I noticed one little robin in the nest...
And what an appetite it had...
And then, after watching for a few minutes, I noticed there were 2...
And new life began.
Then earlier this week, I noticed the adults making a fuss on the ground, near the base of that same small tree. So I went out to look, and apparently one of the little ones had fallen out of the nest somehow. It was on the ground, and didn't look well...
At first, it was just laying there motionless. Mom would come frequently and deposit small worms into its mouth. It seemed like it was near the end. So I decided to build it a small makeshift nest from dried grass clippings to make it comfortable...
I placed it into the new nest, and watched mom notice the relocation, and continue the feeding pattern. I've been checking on it each day, and it's still looking pretty rough. After that first day, it did start to move around a little (probably in fear of me). When it stands up, it looks broken...
I assume it fell and did damage to the shoulder area or worse, its neck. We're heading into Friday now, and surprisingly no predators have been nearby. My daughter has taken to helping me babysit this little creature too...
Then tonight, it started to look a little better. It seemed "right side up" for the most part at first glance...
But shortly after that shot was taken, it fell back into its broken stance. It's funny...I know in the back of my mind that this happens all over in nature, every day probably. But seeing it this closely, first hand, truly is a sad thing. So, the question I pose to you is this: What should I do? Should I let nature take its course and maybe something will come along and put this poor little one to rest? Or can I have hope that, if it survives any local hawks, it may recover? I appreciate you reading this long post. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
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