Right outside our offices in Windsor, VT, we have the most dedicated robin ever. For some reason, she decided to build her nest on top of an emergency light, right next to the door:

As you can imagine, this has caused quite a bit of stress for the poor bird, as well as for quite a few Simon Pearce employees, who have ducked instinctively as the bird bolts from her nest. This door is used regularly by our sales and marketing staff, and each time someone walks in or out the door, the robin quickly flies away, but never too far. She generally sits 10 feet away and not-so-patiently waits for the person to leave.

When she first started building her nest there were several occasions where this fly-away-every-time-a-person-walks-by action caused her to accidentally knock her construction to the ground. But she always started over, stubbornly picking up the fallen twigs and rebuilding. We were all surprised when she finally completed her nest. I, for one, thought she would never actually lay eggs in the nest, what with the stressful conditions she lived under.

But, sure enough, as I walked through the door today after grabbing lunch, after ducking as she flew off, I saw a little beak peek its way over the edge of the nest. I grabbed my cell phone and snapped some images, the whole while momma robin yelled at me from a nearby tree.

She has quite a few little hatchlings. Looks like four. Good for her. I, for one, am impressed. Here's the mother bird, chirping at me from the tree: