American Robin Foraging photo by Larry Jordan
The American Robin is the most widespread thrush in North America and is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin. Even so, we only counted 1806 of them on our Christmas Bird Count in Redding, California yesterday. That number was down from last year’s count of 2286.
This time of year in California, the American Robin travels in small flocks during the day, foraging for worms, grubs and other invertebrates in the morning and fruits and berries later in the day. At night they can form huge flocks of thousands of individuals to go to roost in trees.
According to the data gathered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, they tend to avoid areas with snow cover as the snow would make it more difficult to find food for these ground foraging birds. As you can see from my photo, the snow is melting here but we have still had quite a few American Robins hanging around our feeders.
American Robins migrate southward from their Canadian breeding grounds but many stay in the U.S. for the winter. Some birds fly down to the warmth of Mexico for winter and return in early spring, being one of the first birds to nest and lay pretty blue eggs.
Many people look forward to seeing their first Robin in the spring. I know it always makes me feel like summer is right around the corner. But I also enjoy seeing them this time of year knowing that the weather is not too severe and I will be enjoying their company in larger numbers soon.
Make sure to visit the other Camera Critters photos and have a great weekend!
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now that is close. Haven’t seen ny in Fl. Someone showed me a Nashville one today ??How many different robins are there??
I need help to defer kestrels and hawks away from my yard. i fear for my l pound dog????ideas???
sandys last blog post..Sharing One Lucky Little Girl’s Christmas – Camera Critters is below this
Thanks for this interesting info on the robin Larry. I have wondered myself why some birds have not been migrating north these last couple of years.
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@Sandy there are really only 3 different Robins, the American, the Rufous-backed and the Clay-colored. The American is the only Robin common the the US and Canada. The other two species are found in Mexico and are rarely seen in the southwestern US. You should see American Robins in Florida in the winter. Robins are of the Thrush Family as are Bluebirds.
The only “Nashville” bird that I know is the Nashville Warbler and there are over 50 species of Warblers with many different plumages.
As for the hawk problem in your yard, do you have large hawks, like Red-tailed Hawks hanging around your yard? If so, I would not let my small dog out in the yard without being with them.
There have been rare occurrences of small dogs and cats being attacked by large hawks. I have never seen this myself but have read about this happening.
American Kestrels are small birds of prey that feed primarily on insects and small rodents. I have never heard of a Kestrel attacking a pet.
@Joan thanks for stopping by. I think there are probably many reasons for the decline in bird numbers this year. Usually weather and food supply has quite a bit to do with successful breeding, brooding and rearing of young. These factors also are the main contributors to survival rates for most birds.
Here’s to a great 2009. I am very optimistic about the coming year on a number of levels. I hope you are too.
Have a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
The American Robin looks quite different to the Robins we have here. Funnily enough, I took a Robin photo for Camera Critters too 🙂
Nikki-anns last blog post..Camera Critters – The Robin
We LOVE this site, ’cause we love birds. On our walk this am, we saw a watchful red-tail hawk. We gave one another the “eye”. haha
I go up to Martha’s Vineyard a lot and that’s a birder’s paradise since it’s a major migratory spot. We even got to see that famous red footed hawk that came over from Russia. Even more interesting were the birders who dropped EVERYTHING to make the journey to see him. Their equipment was astonishing and they kindly invited us to look through their ‘scopes.
And yes, I’ve got the Alphas totally in line.
Happy birding!
Fenway
Fenways last blog post..Holy Christmas!!!
Great shot!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Teena in Torontos last blog post..Monday workout
Nice camera you got Larry…I don’t see any robins here (near Buffalo NY) until spring. I noticed the question about hawks attacking dogs. My daughter was walking with her small 5 pound dog in a national park in Ohio when a red-tailed hawk swooped down and tried to grab the dog. It scared my daughter badly, but a nearby forest ranger was laughing very loudly about the hawk thinking the dog was a white squirrel…..
I know our drought affected many things this year and I think also the un-seasonal weather has caused havoc.
Wishing you a propserous 2009 also Larry. I always look forward to whatever the new year may bring and the photographs taken with your new camera. I love new toys!! Don’t you!! 🙂
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@Nikki-ann the European Robin was the original “Robin Red-breast” that the American Robin took its name from however the species are totally different. The European Robin is actually an old world flycatcher and the American Robin is a species of thrush.
Personally, I think your Robin is much prettier than ours. Go See Nikki-ann’s post, you’ll see what I mean
@Fenway thanks for the kudos! I would love to see that Red-footed Falcon as they are close to being a threatened species in Europe. There is a great article on the Matha’s Vineyard story here:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEEDC163FF931A2575BC0A9629C8B63
And a really tragic story on a couple of idiot hunters in Cyprus that recently shot 52 of these beautiful birds here:
http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2007/12/cyprus_falcons.html
@Teena thanks for stopping by with a comment!
@RamblingWoods it sounds like that ranger needs to be in another line of business. I imagine that would be a frightening experience to say the least.
I do love my new camera 🙂 and I’m sure the Robins will be showing up soon up there in Buffalo
@Joan thanks for your continuous support. I expect a great tour if I ever get to South Africa!
It is pretty rare to see Robins around here in the winter. I don’t think they like our severe cold. 🙂
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I always look forward to seeing the Robins in the Spring. I know the warmer weather is on the way!
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@Lisa thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
@Michelle I guess we are all looking for some warmer weather now eh?
Hi! first time here (I think) via skywatch Fri.
Yes, we always know when cold weather is here to stay because those robins fly south. I love seeing birds in real life, but photos from around the globe are a treat. Nice closeup and great info.
GeL (Emerald Eyes)s last blog post..I Want to Hold Your Hand
Great post with wonderful information about the Robin.
Ahh yes, I am one who cannot wait to see that first Spring Robin 😉
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