American RobinJanuary 2005

 



The American robin is a thrush with a red breast and white eye ring and is associated with spring, probably because of its beautiful song at that time (whereas these photos were all taken in late autumn).

The robin below was very perplexed by the activity at the feeders. Rather than hunt for worms or eat berries, it spent considerable time observing bird life.
 

American robin on ground
 
  If one angle is good, two must be better: more robin observation.
 
American robin on branch
 
  Along a forest lane in the neighboring game land, I noticed a bird high overhead going after berries. Now, part of the reason for bird photography is to have good images; another part is to have something on hand to identify the birds seen, even if the photograph itself isn't everything desired.
 
American robin bobbing for berries, 1
 
It wasn't until the last photo (of a sequence of four), below, that I knew I had been photographing a robin: The white eye ring gave it away.
 
American robin bobbing for berries, 2
 
  I've noticed that here, in Pennsylvania, the robins spend most of their time eating berries, whereas on Long Island, they worked the lawn for worms.

I thought I had some stills of an English robin (which is closer in size and spirit, by American terms, to a chickadee); but I haven't run across such photos at my site, so that comparison will have to wait.

Photo note: I used a Pentax *istD, with the SMC-A* 300mm lens for the first two photos and SMC 400-600mm reflex for the second two.




My Pennsylvania bird list

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