The newest addition to the family

It all started last Friday, July 3rd. The kids and I woke up late since it was a holiday. Ginny let the dogs out back and went down into the yard with them. Suddenly, there was screaming, birds squawking, and a flurry of activity. I ran outside to Ginny screaming that there was a baby bird in the yard and the puppies were trying to get it. I helped get the dogs inside, then went back out to assess the situation. Sure enough, there was a baby bird in the yard that didn't look too good. The neighbors were out on their deck and said they had 2 of them when they woke up that morning, but that they thought the birds were gone. The birds weren't big or strong enough to fly yet so it looked as though the nest had been blown out of the tree....Hence, Momma Robin who kept swooping down to attack when we got close to her baby. I was pretty sure the baby wouldn't make it through the day, so we kept the dogs out of the yard.

DAY 2: We kept the dogs out of the yard again because the baby spent the day hopping around all over the entire yard. She still didn't look great, but she was getting around. Throughout the day, we saw Momma bring bugs and/or worms around. She would sit on the fence and chirp. The baby would chirp back, Momma would fly down, the baby would hop over and open it's mouth VERY wide at which time the food would be dropped in.
In the meantime, the neighbors didn't see their birds anymore (they may have been behind the shed) and let their dog in the yard. I was out on the deck when their dog found the babies. As the neighbor's dog attacked, 4 robins swooped, screeched, squawked and yelled in pain. It was awful!

DAY 3: The baby was looking healthier and better every moment. Momma was feeding her numerous times throughout the day, and we kept the dogs out of the yard. By this time, I was able to stand right next to the baby and say "Hi, baby!" without Momma attacking me. She would only attack if I put out a shovel or rake to try and get the bird to jump on so I could put her up high. At that point, the baby would squawk and the Momma would swoop.

We have just ended DAY 5. We have named our baby bird "Baby", Momma still feeds her and no longer attacks. Baby new responds with a chirp when I call out "Baby".

Stay tuned....there is more to this story, including the harrowing experience of Day 5. It was a draining day of which I will blog later. I've really become attached to my newest Baby. (pictures coming soon).