Bye, Bye, Birdie

Posted on June 25, 2013 by TJ

This morning, not long after I took today’s Daily Robin photograph, I looked out the window and saw a baby Robin on the edge of the nest. I grabbed my camera and went out on the front porch to watch. I received the thrilling experience of watching a baby Robin take his first peek at the world…his first steps…and his first flight. I was able to take pictures and capture it on video.

First, here is a slideshow of pictures of what I saw:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Here is a video I took of the baby Robin’s first look at the world.

This is the baby’s first flight. I was so thrilled that I actually captured it on video! I thought at first he was caught in the fence, but he eventually managed to fly off.

Now the nest is empty. I am going to go out later and empty the basket and then wait to see if any other birds build a nest in it.

What an awesome, thrilling experience. My son asked me if I was sad that the babies have flown off. I answered no–because it is what they are supposed to do. It is all part of the seasons of life. It is why I rescued the babies in the first place–to give them the opportunity to grow up and fly off. There would be something wrong if they did not mature, gain independence, leave their nest, and start their own families.

This experience brings up thoughts of my son, who has just graduated from high school. He is my fledgling, and is on the edge of his nest, looking out at the world, getting ready to fly off and live his own life. I am convinced of the rightness of the seasons and changes of life.

I am also pondering how often things that start out as tragedies end up being enriching, thrilling experiences.