This one looks female to me - her hood is a bit brownish and light. The male's should be darker. (Again, really lovely photos!)
If there's still no action at your nest, that strengthens my suspicion that you're watching a cowbird-parasitized (and then abandoned) robin nest, and that the juncos have a nest somewhere else. Maybe at the base of that bush? Often they nest on the ground, under low cover. They like sloping ground especially. Careful searching though - you wouldn't want to step on it!
Thanks for your kind words, and your professional opinion!
The nest under the foliage of a potted plant, which is sitting on a stool. The pot is maybe 50cm in diameter, so not much space for another nest in there! And although I have seen robins about, I haven't noticed any nesting behaviour. I just posted a terribly blurry photo of the blueish egg - maybe it was just a junco egg after all? The level of speckly-ness and base colour seem to be somewhat variable, if my Google image search is anything to go by :)
This one looks female to me - her hood is a bit brownish and light. The male's should be darker. (Again, really lovely photos!)
ReplyDeleteIf there's still no action at your nest, that strengthens my suspicion that you're watching a cowbird-parasitized (and then abandoned) robin nest, and that the juncos have a nest somewhere else. Maybe at the base of that bush? Often they nest on the ground, under low cover. They like sloping ground especially. Careful searching though - you wouldn't want to step on it!
Thanks for your kind words, and your professional opinion!
ReplyDeleteThe nest under the foliage of a potted plant, which is sitting on a stool. The pot is maybe 50cm in diameter, so not much space for another nest in there! And although I have seen robins about, I haven't noticed any nesting behaviour. I just posted a terribly blurry photo of the blueish egg - maybe it was just a junco egg after all? The level of speckly-ness and base colour seem to be somewhat variable, if my Google image search is anything to go by :)