These baby Robins had a rough night. Their nest had fallen and unceremoniously dumped them 10 feet onto the ground. They were cold and the parents couldn't seem to find them. The parents have a history of building poor nests in poor locations. For all they know, the nests magically transform into baskets at some point - this is the second time I've intervened. The last time it was because I found a feral cat standing on the nest.
Here are the two of them as I found them this morning, cold and barely moving.
Here is the fallen nest. The rain had made the muddy grass nest heavy, and it was built into the leafy branches of a tree that fall off when they get old.
I cut the old basket out of the tree that held last year's nest prepared it with some wire.
I placed the nest in the basket...
and wired the nest into the tree right where the fallen one had been.
After warming them in my hands for about 5 minutes, a parent returned and seemed to be searching for them. I placed them in the basket and about three minutes later, the parent arrived at the nest with food but they were so cold and weak they couldn't eat. The parent ate the food it had brought and left the nest carrying some old nest material. I left for work and when I returned the parents were busy feeding the chicks in shifts, and I could hear the little ones chirping. I was so very happy to see that they had made it through the day. I'll keep you posted on their progress. Here is a little video from the time I was trying to warm them up. [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/23993998 w=590&h=1041]