Rockin’ robins

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Rockin’ robins

February 25, 2015 by Mike Powell

Earlier this week American Robins (Turdus migratorius) were very active at my local marshland park, mostly fluttering about high in the trees, apparently foraging for food.

I have a mental picture of robins poking about in the ground and pulling out juicy worms. Clearly they were not looking for worms in the trees, but seemed instead to be focusing their attention on some little red berries. The robins, which are present in our area throughout the year, manage to survive by switching their diets to one of primarily fruit during the winter.

Sue of the Backyard Biology blog helped to explain this change in the a robin’s diet in a posting last year that she titled “The Robin in Winter…or why Robins don’t migrate.” Be sure to check out her blog for wonderful images and fascinating discussions of the science behind some of nature’s mysteries and conundra.

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter | Tagged Alexandria VA, American robin, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, robin, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Turdus migratorius | 13 Comments

13 Responses

on February 25, 2015 at 5:50 am | Reply Ed

A sign of spring perhaps? Great shots.. 🙂
- on February 25, 2015 at 6:03 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Ed. I’ll know it’s spring, Ed, when the ground is unfrozen enough for the robins to be pecking on the ground and not hanging out in the trees. At this time of the year, the early bird can’t get to the worm.
on February 25, 2015 at 5:54 am | Reply Sara Rall

Your berries are oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus); they come from the vine you can see growing up the tree by the birds. I really enjoy your pictures.
- on February 25, 2015 at 6:02 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks so much for identifying the berries for me, Sara. I didn’t have a clue about what they were and didn’t really have any idea where to start looking to figure out the species of berries.
on February 25, 2015 at 7:46 am | Reply James Keegan

I will have to read Sue’s article. Here in the northern Part of Illinois the Robin does in fact migrate during the winter, Look as hard as you want right now, but you will not find one.
on February 25, 2015 at 8:45 am | Reply Bren

Beautiful capture Mike xx
on February 25, 2015 at 12:16 pm | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

I’ve seen bigger flocks of robins this year than I ever have. Hundreds of birds together eating crabapples.
I agree with Sara that it looks like yours are eating oriental bittersweet berries-a very invasive vine, unfortunately.
I like that last shot. I can’t remember ever seeing the underside of a robin’s wing.
on February 25, 2015 at 1:10 pm | Reply Sue

Thanks for the link to my blog, Mike. The robins in these photos look like males with their dark, rusty breasts.. It’s possible that males (being bigger) winter further north than females do. We also have a preponderance of large male robins that stick around here in the winter as well.
on February 25, 2015 at 4:44 pm | Reply Charlie@Seattle Trekker

I saw robins already so I am hoping they are here to tell me spring will be a bit earlier this year.
on February 26, 2015 at 6:48 am | Reply Birder's Journey

Great photo of this bird fluttering his wings! So much more exciting and fun then the typical image in our minds when we think of a robin just strolling across the lawn or sitting on a branch!
- on February 26, 2015 at 6:58 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. As you know well, it’s always a challenge to try to shoot “different” shots of familiar subjects. When I saw the robins fluttering about, I immediately started shooting, though I had not idea what they were doing at that time.
on February 26, 2015 at 8:00 pm | Reply Jet Eliot

I really like your Rockin’ Robins Mike, especially the third one with the spread wing– clearly rockin’.
- on February 26, 2015 at 8:14 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Jet. I have a fairly new big telephoto (150-600mm) and I am trying to really test its capabilities (and mine) by attempting to capture action shots of birds. It’s a challenge, but a good one.