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Fledgling American robin, Turdus migratorius.
A robin built a nest on top of the light fixture on my patio this spring. She laid four eggs, all of which hatched and survived to fledge. Last night, one of the chicks was perched on the edge of the nest, hinting toward imminent departure. Sure enough, by early morning the chicks had all left the nest except for this runt, about half the size of its three siblings and with feathers much less developed.
Throughout the day, both parents brought berries and worms to the three larger chicks, who hopped around the patio. The father made soft calls to them, particularly upon returning with food. Eventually, the chicks scrambled up a low retaining wall and into the cover of several shrubs.
Around noon, both parents broke into frantic alarm cries. I looked out onto the patio area just in time to see the flash of black and white hindquarters departing around the back of the house: one of the neighborhood feral cats had caught a chick. I dashed outside my back door and chased after the cat, who dropped his prize (incidentally, this is the same cat that is constantly spraying urine on my back door). The chick was still but breathing, and showed no signs of wounds, bleeding, or even ruffled feathers. I carefully scooped up the dazed chick and returned it to the bushes concealing its siblings, and after a few minutes it revived and scuttled off into the bushes.
Despite cries for food, the smallest chick was ignored while it remained safe in the nest. After a half day of neglect, it took the plunge and jumped down onto the patio, perhaps lured by the calls of its parents. Unfortunately, its legs and feathers were not as developed as those of its siblings, and it was unable to hop, flap or otherwise scramble up the retaining wall, off of the patio and into the safety of the garden bushes. After taking its picture, I scooped it up and set it down gently where its siblings were last seen.
Throughout the afternoon, both parents continued to bring food to the bushes where the fledglings were hiding. Near dusk, I spotted one of the larger chicks, and I noted the the parents were also bringing food to at least two locations, so presumably at least two chicks made it through the day. I can't confirm if this little guy made it.
"Although robins are considered harbingers of spring, many American Robins spend the whole winter in their breeding range. But because they spend more time roosting in trees and less time in your yard, you're much less likely to see them. The number of robins present in the northern parts of the range varies each year with the local conditions." Cornell
one of the many Robins decimating the Mountain Ash tree two yards over
(and being chased away by Flickers LOL)
This poor little guy went BANG into my front window. He wouldn't fly for a few minutes and seemed disoriented. He eventually spread his wings and flew off perfectly fine.
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycillla cedrorum)
Cedar Hill State Park. Cedar Hill, Texas.
Dallas County. 16 February 2016.
Nikon D800. Tamron SP 150-600mm f5-6.3 Di VC USD
(600mm) f8 @ 1/500 sec. ISO 500.
Although called a Robin - due to its orange breast - this is in fact a Thrush, the largest in North America. The male and female are very similar, but the female is duller, so this is probably a male.
American Robins are industrious and authoritarian birds that bound across lawns or stand erect, beak tilted upward (as this one kindly demonstrates!), to survey their environs. When alighting they habitually flick their tails downward several times.
Like the UK blackbird, American Robin's do sometimes stay close by when you are in the garden, no doubt in case you unearth some juicy morsel.
Junior fluffs up his feathers in preparation for his dip in the bath.
Juvenile American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com
Note how much paler this bird's plumage is than the feathers of the mature robins in this series. This bird was born over the summer of 2022 and is still a juvenile.
It and the others of its tribe as well as other species of birds swooped in at the exact moment the tree's berries were at their peak nutritional appeal and ate literally them all. They were tanking up in preparation for migration. A month later, at the time of this posting, nearly all the robins have left the pop stand, but they'll be among the first, and most welcome, harbingers of spring
The third in the North American Robin series of three images, taken at Mallard Point in Fish Creek Park. I was surprised that he stayed so long, but glad that he did.
Yum, looks good doesn't it? This was taken last weekend and I just saw these guys again this weekend and they now have their feathers and are almost ready to fledge. It's amazing how fast they grow.
I feel like I'm breaking my momentum here by posting something so different, but I like this high-key edit I did, mostly because it accentuates the spot of sunlight on the robin's back. Something about that spot makes this one very appealing to me.
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) fledgling - Passaic River Park, Chatham, New Jersey
This little guy’s nest was likely destroyed by the small tornado that wreaked havoc in Berkeley Heights earlier today, and I found it sitting in the middle of a park service road where it was hiding in plain sight.
There's probably a greater chance that it will be found by a predator than its parents, but even a small chance of being found by its parents (by staying out in the open) is better than starving in a safer place.
I was sorely tempted to intervene, but experience has taught me that it's best to let these things play out as nature intended, since anything I might do would likely decrease its chances of being found by its parents.
Appended 7/2/13
Yes, the weather guys at the three networks (ABC, CBS & NBC) all had their trucks around the touchdown point between the Walgreens and the Passaic River, and the weather authorities decided it was an F-0 Tornado with max wind velocity at a wimpy 85 MPH, but a tornado none the less.
I plan to post some pics later that show the different directions of fallen trees several hundred yards apart
that are evidence of the storm's rotation.
A Robin sat perched with a good selection of food. Not sure what he was waiting for but was just hanging out on the post.
Juvenile Sunbathing ~ American Robin ~ Turdus migratorius ~ Merle d'Amerique ~ My yard in Sparta, NJ
American Robins are abundant in the Shenandoah Valley in the summer and during migration, but less likely to be seen in the winter. I had a flock of two dozen in the yard this week and am counting that as a sign that spring isn't too far off.
This shot of a Robin on a split-rail fence is from early last spring.
March 10, 2009, Lake Shenandoah, Rockingham County, Virginia.
For many Robins mean spring but for me in Texas I usually see them mostly in winter as many migrate south for a warmer winter.
Para muchos, los mirlos primavera significa eso, la primavera, pero para mí en Texas, los veo casi exclusivamente en el invierno. Muchos migran a climas hacia el sur para pasar un invierno más caliente.
The American Robin is a familiar sight pulling up worms on suburban lawns. Although it's at home breeding in deep, mature forests, the robin is the most widespread thrush in North American thanks to a tolerance for human-modified habitats.
© Jim Gilbert 2007 all rights reserved.
Cruising the neighborhood during the GBBC I found a flock of 50+ Robins boisterously feeding along Seney Rd. Some of them were having a hard time keeping their balance, so I wonder whether the berries are fermenting. Bernardsville, NJ
I've been after one of these little beauties for ever......well about a year :)
American Robin or North American Robin (Turdus migratorius) is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European Robin because of its reddish-orange breast, but they are not closely related.. The American Robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering south of Canada from Florida to central Mexico and along the Pacific Coast. It has seven subspecies, but only Turdus migratorius confinis in the southwest is particularly distinctive, with pale gray-brown underparts. It is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It is a migratory songbird of the thrush family and sounds pretty too!
There was a huge flock of them and they all looked like they've been feeding well!