There is a small tree just outside our home office/guest room window. A few weeks ago, we noticed that a robin had constructed a nest in its slender branches. A robin making a nest is not usually noteworthy, except for the fact that in this case she assembled the nest just five feet off the ground (thankfully, she chose a tree outside the fenced part of our yard, which means that the dogs are blissfully unaware of her existence). Also, I think it's pretty late in the season for most birds to be laying eggs but maybe she decided to finish her education before starting a family. Who knows. In any case, it's been interesting to watch her and to wait for the eggs to hatch, since of course such things usually take place high in the treetops, where tiny miracles pass unnoticed by us land-bound bipeds. Periodically, we lift the kid up so she can look in the nest and take a peek at the trademark blue eggs of the robin.
One day, I came home from work and actually thought the mama bird was dead. She was face down in the nest with her tail feathers in the air. I watched her for an eternity and she did not move a muscle. My heart sank, as I thought about a hawk or some other predator having come along and killed her. I saw The Lion King, people! I know about the Circle of Life! But, it turns out I'm a moron and she was just feeding her newly hatched baby.
I took a quick photo of the wee robins when their mom was away. The jury is out on whether they are adorable or hideous. It's a fine line sometimes.
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Some scissor-tailed fly catcthers made a nest on our porch and have babies. They make it obvious that they DO NOT like us spending time there.