JUST FOR KIDS
Robin Watch
It’s spring! Have you seen
a robin yet? All through
North America, the arrival
of robins is a sure sign of
spring. Check your outside
thermometer and your
yard. If daytime temperatures are above freezing,
you should see your first
robin soon.
w? l
o
n
K
u
o
Y
Did in egg blue is an officiae
ro b
1 9 9 0 s, th
The color
th e e a rl y
In
r.
ola
lo
o
c
ed in Cray
C rayo la
ally includ
in
g
ere
ri
w
o
s
rs
a
hase
crayon w
ame. Purc
n
a
e.
t
m
u
a
o
n
h
olor’s
boxes wit
as for the c
e
id
it
m
b
asked to su
t. Don’t worry if you
Males always arrive firs
and snow after the
have a few days of ice
can live through
robins come. Male robins
ins can’t survive
spring storms. Female rob
er because their
for long in freezing weath
duce eggs. That’s
bodies are working to pro
ive first.
why the males always arr
for a good spot
Each male robin looks
young. He claims
to build a nest and raise
ds it against all the
that territory and defen
king for a place to
other males who are loo
call home.
single robins
Keep your eyes open for
u’l
. Yo l see them
checking out your yard
d there. You may
poking around here an
ing ea ch ot he r
ev en se e ro bi ns pu sh
sorting out
around. Those are males
their territories.
Ke ep yo ur ea rs op en
im
too—males sing to cla
d
fin
To
.
ies
or
their territ
gs
n
o
s
n
i
b
ro
o u t w h at
rner.org/jnorth/
ea
w.l
ww
it
vis
e,
sound lik
s.html
tm/robin/Vocalization
ILLUSTRATION BY SCOTT HOLLADAY
Arrival
Leaving Home . . . Sort
Of
For about two weeks, the
chicks grow rapidly and
the nest becomes crowd
Then it’s time for them
ed.
to leave. Then comes the
fun part.
You’ll see the chicks, on
e at a time, teeter on the
edge of the nest and
take off. Look for a paren
t on the ground nearby off
ering encouragement.
A chick ’s first flight isn
’t perfect—it’s a bumb
ling, rolling, wingflapping practice run. Ch
icks need lots of practi
ce to fly!
The parents aren’t finish
ed caring for the chicks
after they hit the
ground. That’s the stage
where you can do some
of your best watching.
The young one will follow
the adult, begging for foo
its wings. The adult fee
d by flapping
ds it on the ground for
a while. But eventually
the chick has to learn to
fend for itself. After a wh
ile the adult will refuse
to feed the chick even
when it begs. Then the
chick will begin catch its
own food. It’s now an ad
ult!
Pretty cool, right? Robin
s are just one small part
of God’s amazing creati
But they tell you a lot ab
on.
out the Creator. Pay att
ention this spring—go
and watch some robins
out
!
30 THE BANNER | April 2014 | www.thebanner.org
Nesting
Has a robin claim
ed your yard as its
territory? Has he
found a mate?
Robins have two
basic requiremen
ts when they’re
on the lookout fo
r just the right sp
ot to build a nest
First, it should pr
.
ovide a solid supp
ort for the nest—
a tree branch, a ra
fter, or even a win
dow box meant
for flowers. Second
, it must be a sligh
tly sunny spot.
Robin chicks requ
ire a little bit of su
n ever y day so
that their bodies
can make Vitamin
D.
Once the robin pa
rents find the pe
rfec t spot to
build a nest, you’ll
see them flying ar
ound with twigs
in their beaks. If
you watch closel
y, you might even
see them gatherin
g mud from a pu
ddle to keep the
nest together.
As the robins fly ba
ck and forth build
ing the nest,
they learn the ar
ea. You should ne
ver move their
nest—they might
not be able to find
it. Think of it this
way: If someone m
oved your house to
a different part
of the city, how w
ould you know w
here to find it?
Delicate Eggu’sll know when the
osely, yo
no more
If you watch cl
r eggs—usually
he
id
la
s
ha
e
femal
of the adults
. You’ll see one
ur
fo
or
e
re
th
than
me.
most all the ti
r to hatch:
on the nest al
in
gs need orde
eg
e
th
t
ha
w
s
Here’
e
nt temperatur
• a very consta
ity
• high humid
every day
• a gentle turn
is missree conditions
th
e
es
th
of
e
s do
If any on
ch. Adult robin
at
h
’t
on
w
s
g
eggs
ing, the eg
make sure the
to
gs
in
th
t
gh
just the ri
st long enough
on the eggs ju
hatch. They sit
ery day.
ll each egg ev
and gently ro
Tending the Chicks
After the eggs have hatched, watch carefully. You’ll see the adults
do three different things:
1. Bring food to the nest constantly—mostly worms. But chicks
need a precise combination of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. So the adults supplement the chicks’ diet with insects, spiders,
and even fruit. Watch closely to see what they feed their young!
2. Clean the nest. After an adult puts food into a chick’s mouth, it checks
the nest for little sacs of chick poop. You’ll see the adult drop a little
“something” as it flies away from the nest.
3. Stay on or near the nest. That’s because newly hatched
chicks have no warm feathers and are absolutely helpless
and very weak. They’re so small that each one weighs
less than a quarter!
After about a week, you should notice that an adult doesn’t always sleep on the nest at night. By then the chicks are big enough to snuggle together and keep each other warm.
Joanne De Jonge is a freelance
writer and a former U.S.
National Park Ranger. She
attends West Valley Christian
Fellowship in Phoenix, Ariz.
www.thebanner.org | April 2014 | THE BANNER 31