American Robin

We came across this nest on a walk in a local park on 22nd May. I would imagine that they have hatched by now. I didn't want to crop the photo, as then the eggs would have seemed too large to be Robin's eggs. They are such a pretty blue.

A colourful American Robin that happened to be perched on an eye-level branch, south of the Bow Valley Ranch, two days ago. A handful of these birds do overwinter here, but now they are back in larger numbers, which always feels good. This morning, I went for a walk with friends in Weaselhead - not a huge number of birds to be seen, though we did have a very distant Great Blue Heron fly overhead. Two Swans flew over, high up, when we were standing in the parking lot, and we saw about six Swans down in the open channel of water, viewed from North Glenmore Park. A few American Tree Sparrows plus the usual - Black-capped Chickadees, Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, Blue Jay, Downy Woodpecker. Received an e-mail from one of my friends in England letting me know that 12 large boxes of belongings were collected from my brother's house today, ready to be shipped to Calgary. Not sure, but I think each box is about the size of a large fridge/freezer (30 cu ft)?! Can you believe that my friends have packed everything themselves (after going through everything that belonged not only to my brother, but to my parents, as well, and checking with me exactly which items I wanted to keep!)? It never went through my mind that they would do this. I had just assumed that a packing company would be brought in and would see to everything. One of my friends was with a packing/shipping company for 30+ years, so I was thinking that he would know exactly who to bring in. This means only one thing - I HAVE to get a move on and start sorting and clearing my basement. I have room for maybe one box at the moment, lol! Doing this sort of thing causes great pain in my body, so I know I can only do a certain amount at a time. Wish I could just keep at it until it's finished, but I have to spread it out. Also, very soon now, my brother's house will be up for sale, so I will have to deal with that, as well as all the arrangements and forms to be filled out in connection with Customs and the Bank. Soon, very soon, my amazing friends will be able to get back to their own lives - knowing that they have all done an unbelievably great job the last three and a half months. Their shiny halos will be dazzling! www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_robin/id Just checked out weather forecast before turning off my computer (12:15 a.m. midnight). OK, you can blame me - I washed my car today for the first time in months! Close to 10 cm of SNOW from Tuesday Overnight to Wednesday Overnight.

Most of our American Robins have left for the winter, I think, but there are always a handful that stay for the winter. This colourful male was enjoying the sun at Votier's Flats, Fish Creek Park, on May 28th.

I went to a local park this afternoon in the hope of seeing the little Long-tailed Weasel, but I was out of luck. However, I did see three American Robins, presumably returned from their winter location. They really are beautiful birds, but perhaps a bit taken-for-granted. Gorgeous colour - but they always make me miss the little, round English Robins, which I haven't seen for 30 years now : (

Two of these (this year's young?) American Robins were perched on this low branch as I passed by on a walk in Fish Creek Park yesterday afternoon. I always enjoy seeing tree trunks covered in Lichen of one colour or another. As with mushrooms, I wish I knew the names of all the different species ... sigh.

This was one of several American Robins that were flying from tree to tree around a small pond and sometimes taking a bath at the edge of the pond. They kept me entertained while I watched and waited, hoping to see at least one Beaver. Taken on 14 September 2014, in Fish Creek Park. "The 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, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the Old World flycatcher family. The American robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering from southern Canada to central Mexico and along the Pacific Coast. It is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin. According to some sources, the American robin ranks behind only the red-winged blackbird (and just ahead of the introduced European starling and the not-always-naturally occurring house finch) as the most abundant, extant land bird in North America." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_robin www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_robin/id

Yesterday, 15 April 2015, my parking lot was going to be spring-cleaned, which meant that all cars had to be out of the lot by 7:30 am. I don't have a 2015 street parking permit, so I had to leave home at 7:30 and find something that would use up the few hours before my volunteer shift. I didn't want to risk being late for that, so decided to stay within the city rather than go driving some backroads. The owls in Fish Creek Park ended up being my destination. I had only been there twice in many weeks and saw Mom on my first visit and then Mom with two of her three owlets on the second. When I first arrived yesterday morning, there was no sign of the "paparazzi" - I had been expecting there to be at least a few photographers and people out for a walk. This time, I was able to see all three owlets as well as Mom and Dad. Late afternoon, after my volunteer shift, I called in again for a while on my way home. Saw this vibrantly coloured American Robin when I was at the park in the morning. These really are such beautiful birds, but because we get so many, I think they often tend to be overlooked. This male was hard to ignore, his feathers almost glowing. "The quintessential early bird, American Robins are common sights on lawns across North America, where you often see them tugging earthworms out of the ground. Robins are popular birds for their warm orange breast, cheery song, and early appearance at the end of winter. Though they’re familiar town and city birds, American Robins are at home in wilder areas, too, including mountain forests and Alaskan wilderness." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Robin/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_robin

Yesterday, 27 May 2015, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was shining, I called in at the Reader Rock Garden. There is rain in the forecast for most of the next 12 days, which will drive me crazy, so I thought I'd better make the most of the blue sky while I could. Alberta is bone dry everywhere, with wildfires especially further north. Actually, one was burning near Water Valley the day after my daughter and I were there three days ago. So, much as I really dislike the rain, we desperately need it. Right next to Reader Rock Garden is the Union Cemetery, where I photographed this American Robin. The Jack Rabbits and birds spend time in both places, needless to say. From the Union Cemetery, I also called in at another nearby cemetery, hoping to find a Wild European Rabbit (none to be seen). There are several bird feeders there, especially by one of the gravestones. I always wonder if the person who was buried there had been a birder. Seemed such a beautiful idea. My last stop was at a wetland in SW Calgary, where I found a Common Grackle. Normally, I just don't see Grackles, but I had seen one there recently, and I'm always happy when I do see one.

Yesterday evening, 10 June 2015, was only what I would call a "magical" evening! Normally, I never go out in the evening - usually just too tired and there are all sorts of things needing to be done on my computer. However, having driven SW of the city the previous day and noticing a baby Mountain Bluebird poking its head out of its nesting box, I knew that any time now that it and its siblings would be suddenly gone. It wouldn't surprise me if they fledge today, which means that another drive will have to be done to check. I have been out far more than usual the past 10 days or so and actually look forward to a day when I don't end up doing the drive. It was early evening when I left home yesterday, after a volunteer shift and a haircut. Really, I was just going to check on the Bluebirds and was not expecting to see all that much else.That's how the evening started, but as the evening progressed, the world seemed to come alive with bird song and activity. It has been a long, long time since I've experienced that. Though my trip was mainly just to check on the Bluebirds, I was also lucky to see an American Robin sitting on a barbed-wire fence just a couple of feet away from a brilliant blue male Bluebird. Talk about colour! They were way down the road, so I was only able to get a very distant shot. Also saw a number of Snipe that I love photographing. When I reached the point where I was going to turn around and head for home, I saw yet another Snipe perched on a fence. Just a few feet from it, on the same fence, was a beautiful Swainson's Hawk! After posing for a while, both birds took off, with the Hawk in hot pursuit of the Snipe. I couldn't see how the chase ended, but hopefully the world is not missing a Snipe today. Closer to home, I suddenly spotted a beautiful female Moose at a small wetland, right before I turned on to the main highway. Not sure if it's because I took my first photos of her from inside the car, across the passenger seat, but most were blurry. Eventually, she left and started walking along the road away from the highway. I crawled along, watching her way in the distance. She kept walking from side to side of the road and then stopped to lick some salt off the road, bending her front knees in what looked a very awkward move : ) Driving back to the highway, I stopped to watch three or four young White-tailed Deer having fun at the wetland. One would occasionally stamp one of its front legs in the water and then bound away a few feet. Funny to watch and so good to see it playing so happily. So, it was quite the evening, to say the least! I drove all the way home with a big smile on my face. And now I have to dash and get ready to meet a few birding friends for a morning walk.