Better Late Than Never

Today has been a very long day for Mrs. Robin. Consequently, it's also been a long day for us. Of course, I'm not the one who just spent 5+ hours trying to lay an egg, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

In the past, Mrs. Robin has laid most of her eggs around noon or shortly thereafter. So we began checking the robincam around noon, hoping to catch a glimpse of egg #4. Mrs. Robin spent most of the afternoon in the nest, and she seemed to be squirming around quite a bit, trying to find a comfortable position. We assumed that the arrival of the fourth egg was imminent. However, on the occasions when Mrs. Robin left the nest for a minute or two, we could see that there were still only 3 eggs.

We started to become a bit concerned when 5:30 rolled around and Mrs. Robin still hadn't laid her last egg. So I did a bit of research, and I learned that spicy foods are believed to help induce labor. Sure, it may just be an old wives' tale, but we really wanted to help Mrs. Robin along. Then, just as we were about to go out to the nest and offer Mrs. Robin some extra-spicy Indian curry, it happened: Mrs. Robin stepped away from the nest for a moment, revealing four perfect eggs. That's right -- we now have a full clutch. Let the incubation begin!!

 Time Lapse from 5.15.11: