Tagged With: Robin

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

With a specific name like Turdus migratorius, you might thing the American robin is only here part of the year. After all, migratorius implies it migrates. Well, it does. Nevertheless, for the overwhelming part of the 48 contiguous states, the robin is a year-round fixture. Their summer breeding grounds extend from the southern states (and include the mountains of central Mexico) to cover all but the most arctic portions of Canada. In the winter they move south, with their northern limit right around the U.S.-Canadian border. So, if you live in Canada, their arrival is a sure sign of spring. The birds we see in the summer may not be the birds we see in the winter but frankly, they all look pretty much alike. We often see them eating berries on the holly in our front yard. This time of year, as it begins to warm up, they are active pulling up worms, as this one was doing before being so rudely interrupted by me.

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American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

I took a few pictures as I walked across campus to a meeting early this afternoon and then a few more on the way back. On the way over I saw a flock of native sparrows bopping around in the underbrush and took a few pictures but really they were too far away to get anything worth posting. I also took some pictures of the ripples on the stream that flows through the property. On the way back I looked for the sparrows but they seem to have moved on. There were, however, a few American robins (Turdus migratorius) pulling worms out of the grass. Although they are migratory, we have them year round here, with those that migrate from New England and Canada only making it this far south for the winter.

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Robin Chicks

Robin Chicks

Robin Chicks

About a month ago a pair of American robins (Turdus migratorius) built a next under our front porch. I tried to discourage them, but they kept at it. I realized it was pointless to resist and they are almost done with it now, in any case. They flew off whenever we went in or out of the house, of course, but now the chicks are about two weeks old and ready to fledge. In fact, I took this picture in the morning with all three chicks in the nest. When I came home later today there was one standing on the edge of the nest and the other two had flown. Later in the evening the third was gone, as well, and the next has been abandoned, having served its purpose.

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Baby Robin

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

The American robins (Turdus migratorius) nesting outside our front door are back to raise a second clutch. There were three in the first batch and another three now, although this photo only shows one. I don’t stay out to take pictures for very long, as that tends to keep the parents away. On the other hand, they built a next in a high traffic area and we’re not going to stop using our front door for them. They grow quite quickly and we watched the last set fledge and these three will be out before you know it. I’m thinking about doing putting something on this ledge to keep them from building another nest here next year, though. There are plenty of other nesting sites for them to use.

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American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

One of the most common birds in our area, winter or summer, is the American robin (Turdus migratorius). They are always around, in the lawn, in trees, singing and making a racket throughout the day. They aren’t anywhere near as cute as the European robin (Erithacus rubecula), which is classified as an Old World flycatcher (family Muscicapidae) rather than a thrush (family Turdidae), which is where the American robin stands. Although they are migratory (as their specific epithet suggests), their winter and summer ranges overlap and they can be seen year round through nearly all of the contiguous 48 states.

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