I've been watching a robin's nest up in some rhododendrons outside my bathroom window for the past few weeks. The eggs were bright, bright blue. I know - that's where they get 'robin's egg blue' from, but it's different seeing something first hand. What a color. The mother robin would sit on the eggs for a good time, flying away from time to time to find food or do whatever robins do. A few days ago - or maybe a week ago, the chicks hatched. I haven't seen the mother robin since. The chicks squawk and flap their undeveloped wings with their big beaks wide open and pointing up, always waiting for food. But the mother hasn't been around. Instead, a pair of cardinals have been at the nest more often than not. One is bright red, and the other is a dull gray with patches of bright red. I'm not sure which one is the male and the female. One or the other is by the robin's nest more often than not. I don't know why.