Last year, a pair of robins made a nest on our porch railing right outside the kitchen window. For fifteen days, while we washed dishes, we had the joy of watching what goes on inside a robin’s nest.

When the robin first started making a nest, I could hardly believe my eyes. She was building it right on the railing.

The female robin is the one who constructs the nest. Once she started working on the nest, it came together quickly.

Soon there were three beautiful eggs in the nest.

After they hatched, I decided to document each day. I missed a few days, but managed to catch most of them. Some I took from our window. For some, I set up a tripod on the porch and took the pictures from inside.

15 Days in a Robin’s Nest

Day 1

The female incubates the eggs for 12-14 days, but it seemed like in almost no time the first two hatched. I wondered if the third one would hatch, as well.

Day 2

The next day, we saw a small crack in the egg, and soon the third one was out as well.

Day 4

Over the next few weeks, we enjoyed watching the robins bring food for their little ones.

Day 5

It was surprising to see how fast they grew.

Day 6

Day 7

You can see that their eyes are beginning to open.

Day 9

Look at all those feathers!

Day 11

I wasn’t sure if they were going to be safe on the deck railing, but it looks like they’ve almost made it.

Day 12

The nest is really looking crowded by now.

Day 14

The parents keep busy feeding the little ones. According to Journey North, the parents may make around 100 trips a day to supply their nestlings with food.

Day 15

Two have fledged, and there’s only one left in the nest.

It was such a blessing to be able to watch this up close! I’m hoping they return this year. I saw a pair scouting out the bushes by our porch, so maybe we’ll get to watch them again.

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We’ve enjoyed watching the wildlife that visits our yard. We’ve also tried to make our yard welcoming for birds and insects. It allows us to observe so much we might have otherwise missed.

This year we’ve hung a birdhouse gourd by the window. It’s fascinating to see nest building activity we’ve never seen before. In the past, we’ve also made a mason bee hotel and were able to see mason wasps lay eggs, stash caterpillars for their young when they hatched, and seal the entrance with mud.