Like Young Robins Our Daughter Still Needs

LIKE YOUNG ROBINS Our Daughter Still Needs Us

BY LURA ROTI

Each spring, like clockwork, a mother robin builds a nest atop our back porch light. And we get to follow the progression: First one egg, then, two…once there are four, she and her partner rarely leave the nest – except when any of us exits our home through the back door.

Some years, the mother and her partner are laid back and will stay put when we go in and out. But mostly, they nervously fly off each and every time.

It must be exhausting for them. And I am certain they become peeved at the Roti family. Especially our canine member, Tulip.

This year’s couple let their frustration out in full force — dive bombing our golden retriever each time she went outdoors. She loved it. So, she frequently barked to be let out.

Once their babies hatch, we rarely see the couple hanging out in the nest. They are too busy caring for their young brood. It’s interesting to watch them collect worms and feed the hungry babies.

Following the life cycle of the back porch robin family is a fun way to engage with nature. But in the past, the engagement ends once the babies exit the nest.

We’d watch the young, freckled birds cautiously stand on the nest edge; unsteady and contemplating their next move, these baby birds always remind me of Weebles Wobble toys.

When they finally do leap from the nest, we would see the young robins in the yard, but I never gave much thought to how they survived postnest. And since I haven’t read up on birds, the transition from leaving their nest to adulthood has been a mystery to me. Until this summer.

It just so happened that the babies decided it was time to exit the nest when we were outside doing yard work. We watched them clumsily land on our fence and then the ground. Tulip made a mad dash for one baby bird. Somehow my husband, Shon, was able to catch her before she caught the bird.

For the next two days, Tulip was on a leash when she went into the backyard. Within a day, the baby birds discovered our lilac bush and were able to keep a safe distance from the dog.

I think their mother helped them navigate their way to the bush. And she and her partner have been caring for them ever since. At first, they would deliver worms to them while they sat on their roost in the lilac. But just the other day, I saw her babies following her around the yard as she collected worms.

It is almost as if she’s teaching them how to survive. Makes sense.

At the same time, our family was learning more about the postnest life of robins, our 11-year-old daughter, Parker, graduated from elementary school.

Unlike the baby robins, our daughter is not hesitant to make the leap into middle school. I am so grateful for this. It could be because she has good friends, and they will all be joining her in sixth grade. And it could be, she’s just ready.

Like the baby birds, she does still need us. Not so much to help her survive – thankfully, she is quite organized and capable – but more as her support team.

During a recent dance recital, she didn’t need me to do much more than her high bun, but she wanted me to sit in her room with her and visit while she applied her stage makeup.

And there have been several free evenings when she did not want to play a board game or watch a movie, she just wanted to “get comfy and visit.”

I treasure these moments because visiting with Parker only happens on her time and her terms. And because we only have one child, each milestone in her life seems like a boulder. We will only experience it once. As she enters the years that will prepare her to leave our nest, I am thankful she still needs us.