So where did we leave off with the baby birds, in the rhododendron bush in the backyard?
They really were in there.
First they were pink and a bit fluffy, and then they started the hard work of growing feathers, which meant they needed a lot of sleep, with short breaks for eating and nuzzling with Mom.
The four babies slept in an undifferentiated pile, in a nest that became progressively smaller and smaller, or at least that’s how it seemed.
One day, the oldest of the babies saw me coming with my camera and flew out of the nest. The next day, they all saw me coming and flew off in different directions. But not too far.
And the following day, they were gone.
A week or so later, I saw one of the baby birds, a teenager now, standing on top of Mom’s temporary greenhouse in the backyard. He had a speckled breast, alfalfa-like hair, and clumsy long feet. When I got too close, he decided to fly to a nearby window, where he saw his mirror image flapping desperately in the glass and lost his footing (winging?) and started to fall, barely catching one long toe on the window ledge below.
Clearly, flying is much harder than Mama Robin made it seem.
P.S. Miss Butterfly has healed so well from her surgery that she was up to a visit to the groomer.
“Now that I look beautiful, don’t you want to give me a chicken treat?”
rachelmankowitz 
What a great week!
Yes!
A happy ending for all. Yay for the birds and for Butterfly!
Thank you!
So fascinating. You’re so lucky to be able to follow these little guys ! Butterfly definitely deserves a treat !
Thank you! Miss B seems to think she’s a baby bird herself, she really really likes dirt.
She’s a bit if a bird. 🙂
I am so glad Butterfly is better. Did she lose weight, or is it just the look of the hair cut? Glad to see the birds have as hard a time leaving the nest as most of us do.
Miss Butterfly did lose a few ounces during her ordeal, but she is working hard to put the weight back on as fast as she can. She gives me the chicken treat plea VERY often during the day.
I am glad she is so determined to reach her goal weight.😂🤣😂
Ha! She really is!
She IS beautiful, Ms. Butterfly, and yes she does deserve a chicken treat, just for the photo ! 🙂 Thanks for sharing the saga of the robins…so beautiful. I’m glad they’re doing so well! And next Spring it begins again, doesn’t it?
We may get more robins this summer!
It’s good to read that she’s doing better! She looks so content! The birds sort of made my skin crawl, thankfully, none of them was hurt!
Amazing photos!
Thank you!
The robins are SO cute, but Ms. Butterfly surpasses them in loveliness. She looks pretty perky, and I think she deserves two treats. Wish I could give her a back scratch.
She would LOVE a back scratch!
Baby birds bring back memories of my childhood.
Sweet memories, I hope.
what amazing photos and wonderful experience!
Thank you!
Glad Butterfly is doing so well. Beautiful photos of the baby birds too.
Thank you!
So happy to hear that Butterfly is feeling better!
Thank you!
Oh, I just ADORE this post 🙂 ! And Ms. Butterfly is adorable as usual, so glad to see her “smiling” face. We have rescued baby starlings for years, but a couple of years ago, we had one that refused to leave when the time came. His name is Sam and I chronicle his first year here, http://staceylynnwells.com/sam-a-year-in-pictures/ if you’d like to read it. He’s our baby, and tell us so frequently 🙂 I’m so so glad you shared this post!
Thank you!
Reblogged this on Happy Walk Happy Dog Dog Walking/ Pet Sitting.
These images are really incredible, Rachel. Seriously. Such an amazing metamorphosis!
And I’m so glad Butterfly is doing well – you are a good mommy…she looks adorable!!
Thank you! Miss B is doing so well! Watching the baby birds grow and change while Butterfly was going through her own ordeal was overwhelming, and miraculous.
Those birds grow fast, don’t they? (I say this as someone who used to have pet finches that bred like rabbits.)
And glad to see that Butterfly is getting back to being Butterfly! (My own Roxy is more of a smoked pig’s ear or chewing on the leftover steak bone kind of gal.)
Butterfly has never had the chance to chew on a steak bone, but I’m sure she’d give it her all!
brings back memories of the starlings in the tree outside my bedroom window when I was a teen. at least once a season, we’d find a baby bird out of the nest and in the bed below.
Uh oh! Did the babies survive?
I think only one year the baby was too young and didn’t make it. his brothers did. That house also saw a stray cat, a stray puppy and a stray COW ( we lived near the university agricultural farm) every one was collected in the end
A stray Cow!
Lovely for you to post an update on that adorable Butterfly, Rachel. Thank you for the update.
Thank you!
What a great visual story you’ve told!
Thank you!
Aww, those babies are so cute. Good the nest was in the rhododendron bush and not half way up in an apple tree. It gave you the opportunity to follow them growing from the very beginning. So happy for Miss Butterfly to have healed. She looks adorable.
Thank you!
Lovely pics!
Thank you!
Lovely to see the birds fly and so wonderful to see Butterfly sparkling again! ☺💖
Thank you!
So funny how baby birds are all eyes and beak to start with! 🙂
Miss Butterfly is adorable. 🙂
Miss B was hoping that her surgery would make her into a birdy, but no luck.
A lovely record; good news about Butterfly
Thank you!
Cool!!!
Thank you!
Cute – the birds and Miss Butterfly.
Thank you!
Wonderful news, all in all! And such beautiful photos!
Thank you!
Beautiful photos of the birds growing. Glad Butterfly is recovering well.
Thank you!
What beautiful photos of the birds….love the rhododendron bush too. Have two in my back yard also.
Thank you! The flowers on the bush shriveled almost as soon as the baby birds flew away. Coincidence?
Lovely picture of the birds.
Hope Butterfly got her treats (and Cricket too) and continues to recover well.
Thank you!
Wonderful photos and touching story
Thank you!
Glad to hear Butterfly is doing well. May she continue to recover and enjoy listening to the melodic song of the robin.
Thank you!
Those photos are wonderful! Thank you for sharing the experience!
Thank you!
They grow so fast and are gone before you know it. Great log of their journey to flight. Glad Butterfly is doing so well.
Thank you!
Absolutely beautiful photos. Nature has some amazing stories, thanks for sharing
Thank you!
So happy for Butterfly and you…beautiful bird story.
Thank you!
Lovely birds ,glad Butterfly looks a lot better
Thank you!
This post is full of cuteness and sweetness and all things beautiful! Love it! I’m so glad Butterfly is doing well x
Thank you!
It’s great to hear Butterfly is feeling so well. She should get lots and lots of chicken treats! The baby birds were so cute! Thank you for sharing the pictures!
Thank you! Butterfly agrees with you about those chicken treats!
So lovely!!!
Thank you!
Wow those are some amazing photos!! I really enjoyed watching the little babies grow! Very cool!!
Thank you!
Thank you for posting the complete story of the robins, glad that it had a happy ending. And that Butterfly is feeling better and recovering.
You are very welcome and thank you too!
Pingback: Blue Sky Tag | yochet
Wow! I enjoyed reading about the birds. I have not seen a baby bird since about 3 years ago. Last year, my son had to collect baby opossums because our rat terrier went to use the rest room late at night and caught the mom. We later found out that it was a new mother of 7. Yoel, my 17 year old son, went around the yard with a flash light to collect all the babies. We put them at a rescue center the following morning. I wasn’t blogging then, so I had no chronicle of it. But I was so proud of my son for not giving up on looking for the babies. I should go back and look for the pictures and videos I took and blog about it. Especially now that Yoel is no longer here. He passed away about 6 months after the opossum event.
Oh no! I’m so sorry! Your son sounds like a beautiful soul.
Those bird pics are amazing!
Thank you!
I’m glad the young robins fledged, I’ve found if the parents are spied upon too often they may not return to the nest, and the nest fails. Great recovery, Butterfly!
Great photos & so glad your fur babies are all doing well, too!
Thank you! Miss Butterfly is better than ever!
Fantastic photos of the baby birds. So happy to hear the good news about sweet Butterfly…she is just so cute. Hugs and nose kisses from all us to all of you.
Thank you!
Aww. So ugly, then so grumpy looking, then so cute.
So happy Butterfly is doing so well. Must be her positive attitude, yes?
Butterfly has the most incredible spirit of anyone I’ve ever met!
Awww. So sweet.
Lovely Story in Pictures.
Thank you!