Empty Nest :(

Date: Friday, May 9
Time: 7:00-7:40 a.m.
Weather Report: Clear, 45°F, 63% Humidity, Winds: From SE @ 8 mph; feels like 42°F.
Location: Outside the window of our classroom, roughly nine feet above the ground in the windowsill of a window into the stairwell.

Bird Species/Markings/Features: 1 female American Robin (Turdus migratorius) and zero eggs.

Sights/Sounds/Activities: Only one day after beginning an observation of the American Robin's (Turdus migratorius) nest with four turquoise eggs nestled in the corner of a windowsill, the "activity" is over before it even really got started.

Unfortunately, this (Friday) morning when I came into work, I pulled the blinds to check on the nest only to find that it was completely empty. No mother Robin. No eggs. No evidence of egg shells as if following a hatching (which I knew to be ridiculous as the birds would not hatch and fly away like in the cartoons).

Notes: From my third story classroom window, I attempted to identify any shells or bodies or anything which might help clarify what had transpired overnight. I noticed a small turquoise spot which appeared to be egg shell, and made my way downstairs to take a closer look. It was indeed a piece of eggshell and it, along with another smaller one, was all that could be found during a quick walk through the general area. The only other evidence were some pieces from the nest on the ground below the ledge on which it rested (and still remained).

Returning to my classroom I looked back out the window to find an adult Robin (the mother?) picking around in the grass (see picture centered above). This single bird was joined by another on the other side of the walkway.

As some of my early arriving students began to trickle into the classroom, I shared what had happened to the nest. (They had been in early the day prior and were aware that I had been interested in observing it.) Justin shared with me that he had seen some older (he said "tall") boys throwing things up at the ledge the afternoon before at around 4:00 p.m., about an hour and a half after school had ended.

So what happened to the eggs? Could be predators, I suppose. Could be that they fell out of the nest after being struck? Maybe some combination of the two ideas. I can only hope that the nest from the very start was part of some Science project down in the high school (remember the paper taped to the window to obstruct viewing by prying eyes?), just another possibility I'll need to follow up with on Monday.

Read Up and Write On!