Back-post, 5/14/11: fallen robin's nest

Meet Brandon and Ethel. They are the baby robins whose nest fell from its perch onto my porch. The nest was reused from a family of robins last year. When it fell, I had no idea what to do. I was very upset because only a week prior I had discovered two dead red-winged blackbirds in my mulch (they had run into one of my front porch windows). And a week before that one of the baby robins from this very nest had fallen/been pushed from the nest.

I was crestfallen to discover their nest upside down on my back porch one day after work. I called a friend who knows a lot about wildlife to ask what I ought to do. She suggested turning over the nest with cardboard and my gardening gloves.

I carefully slid a flattened box underneath the nest and righted it. Staring up at me were these two sweet babies, who I promptly named Brandon and Ethel. Brandon is the one with head peeking out in this photo.