Bird nest and eggs – whose?
Today in the Gabriola woods we came upon this nest, complete with eggs. What sort of bird do you think it belongs to? It’s quite different from the hummingbird nest we found last summer.
Filed in birds,Gabriola Island 4 Comments so far
4 Responses to “Bird nest and eggs – whose?”
Anon E Mouse on 04 Jul 2012 at 5:55 am #
Robin, is my best guess without knowing the size – should be a tad longer than an inch, for robins. Robins usually have up to 4 or 5 eggs, if you check back she may lay a couple more in the next few days. Also the fact that the mother is not on the nest suggests that she is not done laying – chickens do this too, lay one egg daily and continue about their normal lives until they figure they have enough, then set on the eggs pretty much continuously for 3 weeks until they hatch. That way they all hatch on or close to the same day. Live fertile eggs will “hold” at room temperature long enough for this strategy to work – they won’t survive indefinitely that way because they are still metabolizing and burning energy – but it is at a low level until the setting hen brings them up to body heat and starts the developmental clock ticking.
The colour is known as ‘robin’s egg blue’ – pretty, yes? I found this very cool article lately and intended eventually posting it (perhaps when I had a good photo to go with?), so this is the perfect time!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120514122838.htm
Gabriolan on 08 Jul 2012 at 12:54 pm #
Thanks, Anon E Mouse. I think you’re probably right. I did get a better photo of the eggs in the nest today. And later I caught a glimpse of a brown bird leaving the nest – could have been a robin.
Anon E Mouse on 08 Jul 2012 at 4:31 pm #
Had she laid any more or do you think this is it?
Gabriolan on 08 Jul 2012 at 7:22 pm #
Anon E Mouse – there are still just two eggs, so maybe that’ll be all.