Today I decided to give my feet a break from the cobblestone streets and instead went for a walk on some of the wooded trails of the Bois de Boulogne in the outskirts of Paris. The highlight of the day for me was getting this shot of a European Robin (Erithacus rubecula), known in French as a Rouge-gorge (Redbreast). There are different birds around the world that share the name “robin” and it was nice to finally have a chance to see the European one.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Thank you for sharing this image. Growing up in Britain, these rotund little robins are used as symbols for winter and winter holidays. I, therefore, at this time of year get a bit nostalgic about robins.
Thanks for the background, Laura. I had no idea what kind of birds I might see when I went out in the woods today, and was thrilled when this perky little robin perched only a little away from me.
It is as if the background burst splendidly upon his chest. What a precious find. Wise to rest the feet too!!
I took your advice, Damien, and went to visit the Jardins des Serres d’Auteil today. I eventually made it there, but initially got turned around and went past the Hippodrome and wandered for a while in the Bois de Boulogne.
It’s so easy to get distracted here, every turn leads to another taste!
Don’t miss the illuminations at jardin des plantes! It’s the life below the oceans this year and looks amazing! Nights from 18h onwards
The colorful background makes this shot particularly pleasing. Robins are such sweet, curious birds.
The robin and the background are a perfect color blend. I’ll bet that wasn’t your phone. If it was, I don’t think I want to know.
You have good eyes, Michael. That was definitely not my phone! There is no way I could have captured that kind of moment with my phone, which for me works only for static subjects. I had my DSLR in my hands and was in ready mode as I searched for birds. When I am at home and photographing birds, I tend to use a 150-600mm lens. Here I was shooting with a much more modest 55-250mm lens. I got really lucky when the bird perched at relatively close range, so close that it might not have been within the minimum focus range of my longer telephoto zoom, which I think is close to nine feet.
There’s no way it could be your phone. That is obviously a telephoto shot. I was just pulling your leg. At the expense of my own.
It is a good point though, Michael, and a good response to my friends who assert that cameras are obsolete and that cell phone cameras can fulfill all of their requirements. If that is true, they have very different requirements than I have. 🙂
My hawk shots sure would not have worked with a phone.
I made a deal with my cameras that I would never make phone calls on them. And my phone understands that I would never do serious photography with it. It’s sort of a detente.
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