Empty Nest

The little bird family my husband and I have been watching for the past couple weeks is now gone. All four eggs hatched becoming the tiniest little birds I've ever seen. Mostly naked they had only a few wisps of tiny feathers, eyes still unopened and quite a bit of trouble picking their heads up. They were so tiny and helpless.

Before the 3rd egg hatched one of the newly hatched birds disappeared. Then around the time the 4th egg hatched another one disappeared. For a little more than a full day we watched in amazement as the remaining two little birds quickly grew. But this morning, when we woke, the nest was empty. 

Not knowing anything about robins or their eggs we went online and read that most eggs never become birds. Apparently they frequently become victims of predators if they hatch at all. Considering how exposed this particular nest is and the large population of birds in the area we think that is likely what happened. 

Whatever the reason we are both sad about it. Watching them was fun and amazing. I couldn't believe how small they were and how quickly they were growing. We were looking forward to our close up view of them turning into full birds (apparently it only takes 2 weeks). Maybe we are more sad about this reality of nature than we normally would have been because we are still in the grieving process.