Day 5. Still mostly quiet and sleeping. Skin is darkening. Feathers visible under the skin.
Closeup #1 of those developing wings/feathers.
Closeup #2 of the wing/feather development.
Those downy tufts on the top of their heads makes them look like old men!
No, it’s not a buttonhole. It’s the eye slit widening. A few more days until they open.
All lined up, waiting for food.
Day 4. More misty rain. Eye slits widening. Wing feathers noticeable under the skin. Tiny robin feet!
See if you can find the worm that the mother robin left in the nest for the babies to eat!
Day 3 and another chilly, damp day for the baby robins. The mother stayed on the nest most of the day. I checked them in the morning (sleepy heads) and at dusk (sort of hungry, but mostly sleepy). This group seems to be developing slower than last year’s.
Day 2. I was able to see all four baby robins, but they are really very snuggled together. Today was chilly and rainy. I expected to see them eating today, but mostly they slept. I try to only look in the nest in the morning and night so that they are not disturbed too much, but really, every time someone leaves the house, the mother flies to the nearby tree and leaves the nest for a few minutes.
Here’s the honeysuckle vine on our front porch. Can you find the nest?
Look closely and you will see the mother bird’s beak. She’s done a terrific job keeping the warm and dry this weekend.
Eye slits are starting to form. They will continue to spread across the eye before they are able to open.
Four sleepyheads. Look at that baby chicken neck!
If you look close, you can see the beginnings of where the feathers will start to emerge.
Not as sharp as I would like, but this closeup of the down shows off the tiny spurs that hold air.
If you know me, you know I love tiny things. This little silver kaleidoscope was a gift and it is a treasure. It has real glass & gem pieces that create the delicate, colorful images which are amazing when you consider that the diameter of the kaleidoscope is only 4mm. But you don’t have to take my word for it, take a look yourself (via my iPhone!).
No snow to photograph in NC this week, so I’m turning my easy-macro lens on a feather in my office.
It’s amazing how much detail you can see when you look closely! It looks like we have some birds trying to build a nest near our porch again. If so, we’ll try to follow them as they lay eggs and hatch the baby birds (see last year’s robins).
Earlier this month I had another chance to try my hand at photographing snow crystals with my iPhone and a macro lens. I’ve tried several iPhone macro lens attachments, but I have to say I’ve had the best success with the very simple Easy-Macro Lens. It’s basically a special rubber band with a lens embedded in it. This means the lens can be used with any smartphone… and even my iPad. So, on to the results!
These are the snow crystals from my visit to Ithaca, NY at the end of December (2012). I used a black scarf to collect the falling crystals, then I moved into an open bay of the garage (cold, but no more snow falling on me). I identified snow crystals that seemed like good candidates, then got my iPhone and lens REAL close. I had forgotten my tripod, so I steadied the phone with a box.
Pretty cool, huh?
(Next time it snows, I’m set. I’ve got my lens, my tripod ready, and some pretty amazing crystal micro-mounts from my brother-in-law Rob)
Doug Ellison, of NASA JPL, gives a demo of the amazing Spacecraft 3D app. This free app allows you to explore 3D augmented reality imagery of the Mars Curiosity rover. The GRAIL spacecraft is also part of the current version of the app. Other spacecraft will be added over the coming months. NOTE: I clipped the video a few seconds BEFORE Doug starts talking about Spacecraft 3D… so first image is of another project. For full video of the MSL landing event see here.
Video streaming by Ustream
Download the app yourself, print out the target page and start exploring!
Maggie explores the Curiosity rover with 3D augmented reality!
For more about Mars Curiosity
On Twitter: Follow @MarsCuriosity and @NASAJPL
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarsCuriosity
Explore Mars Curiosity online
Amazingly, the baby robins still make no noise in the nest. I am assuming this is so that they do not draw attention to their location. They are really filling up the nest now (and spilling over the edges!).
Day 11: daily morning check of the nest. All four are still there!
Baby Robins Day 11: feathers
Day 11: As the feathers continue to emerge, the down looks more and more out of place!
Baby Robins Day 12: morning nest check. They are sleepyheads!
Baby Robin Day 12: Remember when that eye was just a tiny slit? Only a week ago!
Baby Robin Day 12: head feathers are coming in replacing downy "mohawk"
Baby Robin Day 12: feathers are looking more and more like they will be ready for flight soon.
The highlight of the first weekend in May was Day 9 & 10 of Baby Robin development. The feathers are just amazing as they emerge.
The nest is getting crowded!
Check out that cute head and the feathers starting to emerge. The feathers on the wing look like a ruff around its little neck.
Day 9: It's all about the feathers.
Feathers emerging.
Wing feathers
These look like paintbrushes to me. Day 9 feathers.
Closeup of the Day 9 feather unveiling.
Day 10: all snuggled in, with feathers fluffed out
Day 10: Baby Robin sporting the mohawk look as down is replaced by feathers.
Day 10: closeup of feathers and down.