Chirps of Spring: Understanding the Behavior of American Robins!

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone had a wonderful week. I have been busy as usual but had time to go out and take pictures 3 times last week. On Tuesday, there was no school for kids as primary elections were happening here in Virginia so I took advantage of my son being home and taking him with me to a park. He seems very interested in learning photography and he is only 7. I tried showing him what I do and the different kinds of birds along our walk. He has a very good eye and is able to spot birds a lot quicker than I am. He is now able to call out some birds by their name. He truly is learning quicker then I expected. He also got to hear a couple of Barred owls communicating although unfortunately we were unsuccessful in finding them. A Red-Tailed hawk also graced us with it’s presence when he flew right by us and my son wanted to chase after it. I tried to tell him the importance of respecting wildlife and told him that we are in their territory and we need to be respectful of their privacy as well. He seems very interested in learning more about the hawk and I am glad he is showing interest. I truly do hope in the future if he does decide to do photography that he is better than I am and that he learns way more than I have. I did not get to have experiences like that with my father as he was not in the picture so it makes me happy that he enjoys what I do and seems interested in it as well.

This week I got to see some interesting behaviors from birds as I witnessed a lot of them gathering nesting materials. Some of this birds are truly amazing in the way they go about building and putting their nest together. Is not like they just grab sticks and set them in a tree. They meticulously grab twigs, sticks and tie them together. Their nest is truly a work of art. Here where I live I started seeing nests already fully built in the parking garage. There has been a lot of nesting activity happening from birds which you know it is a busy season for them. From building their nest to looking for food birds are truly one of natures wonders. Nature can be so beautiful all we need is just to stop and watch and see just how amazing it actually is. Part of that charm I feel has been lost already as we are highly dependent on phones now a days that we forget to just look up and see what is around us. Each season is a new challenge for these lovely animals. In the winter season they need to make sure that they can survive the weather and temperatures. Some have adapted by growing extra feathers. Some make a cozy nest and some just huddle up together hoping to keep each other warm. Spring is nesting season but before they can even think about nesting males have to show females they can provide food. They start courting before Spring even arrives. Once spring arrives nesting begins and females start to lay their eggs. Once the eggs are laid and hatched the young birds usually take about a month or so to fletch. That’s when you know Summer is coming around. The young birds start exploring and discovering how life is like for them. Some birds are actually still providing for their young around this time. Then Autumn starts to roll around and if a bird migrates they start that long journey to get to their new destinations sometimes even if it is miles away. They don’t do this just once a year. Some birds migrate for mating season up North in the Spring. It is truly an outstanding feat that this birds are able to accomplish. Flying for miles just to reach their new homes each year. The fact that some return to the same location as years prior shows an outstanding level of intellect that is truly unmatched. Nature is beautiful!

The American Robin a very common bird across North America. They’re often seen tugging earthworms out of the ground. Their distinct warm orange breast, cherry song and early appearance signals the end of winter. These beautiful birds are common around the city, in local parks, in mountain forest, and could also be found in the Alaskan wilderness. They can produce three successful broods in one year. On average, about 40% of nest produce young and only 25% of those fledge young survive to November. From that point on only about half of the robins alive in any year will make it to the next. A lucky robin can live up to 14 years but usually the entire turn over on average every 6 years. Although robins are consider to be an early sign of Spring some usually stay within their breeding range all Winter long. But because they spend there time mostly up on trees your less likely to see them in your backyard. There diet throughout the Fall and Winter mainly consist of berries which sometimes can cause them to become intoxicated. An interesting fact about this birds that I learn is that there food changes depending on the time of the day. In the mornings they eat mainly earthworms and fruit later on the day. A truly well balanced diet for sure. The oldest recorded robin was 13 years 11 months old. These birds are the state birds for 3 states in the U.S which are Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Robins nest are often a target of parasitic brown-headed cowbirds who lay there speckled eggs among robin’s eggs. But these birds are extremely efficient at recognizing and removing these eggs. I been noticing these birds being much more active as of late could be because Spring is around the corner I am definitely excited for what’s to come. I am particularly looking forward to seeing the hummingbirds that come here to Virginia I been wanting to photograph one for awhile now. I will definitely be exploring a lot more throughout this warmer months.

Have you check out the latest digital print drop yet? It’s some of my best work yet and some of my most rewarding prints yet. I have been putting a lot of time and hard work into perfecting my skills. I do judge myself very harshly as I know if I don’t I will not keep improving. Only way I can improved is to keep pushing forward and correcting any mistakes I make along the way. I have been very good at seeing where I make mistakes and I take all necessary steps to correct this mistakes. I also love receiving feedback as having someone else see your work always gives you a much better unbiased opinion. Until next week, I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Thank you,