Top Photo: American robin foraging on eastern red cedar. Had you visited the Red Wolf Enclosure’s overlook in the past few days you may have heard the chortle of robins above. You may have had juniper berries rain down on your head. You may have seen a dozen or more birds flitting about, knocking the small blue fruit off the tree limbs in their zeal to consume them. American robins, bluebirds, hermit thrushes, sapsuckers and yellow-rumped warblers have all beenRead more
Posts tagged: #robin
The Robins of Winter
Top Photo: One of dozens of American robins pilfering holly berries in Gateway Park. It’s that time of year again when flocks of robins descend on all available remaining fruit bearing trees and shrubs. Fact is, they flock together all winter long looking for foodstuffs. Apparently, “the more eyes the better to spot food sources,” and the “safety in numbers” theories come into play with these wintering flocks. They group together in fall and break up in spring to breed.Read more
Have a Look Around
Top Photo: American robin on privet. Here’s some things to look for while you stroll around our Outdoor Loop Trail. American robins flock together in winter searching for food sources such as berry laden trees and shrubs. By this date last year Japanese apricot, or Chinese plum (Prunus mume) had been in bloom for two weeks. At this time in 2019 it had blossoms a week prior. It’s just now starting to come into flower this year. Hermit thrushes areRead more
The Hermit and The Hole
Top Photo: Hermit thrush perches on vine in Explore the Wild. There are three thrushes which regularly spend the winter at the museum, eastern bluebird, American robin, and hermit thrush. All are migratory to some extent, though our local robins and bluebirds stay put. Only one is exclusively a winter visitor. Hermit thrushes arrive in our area late September to October. By the middle of May they’re gone. Mostly insectivorous, they consume many berries during the colder, insect deficient winterRead more
Ilex
Top Photo: The red fruit and evergreen leaves of Ilex. Ilex is a genus of largely evergreen flowering plants which are very familiar to most people. Some Ilex have spiked leaves but, surprisingly, most varieties do not. After spring and summer pollination of their tiny white flowers, the plants produce red berries, more correctly called drupes, which persist throughout the fall and winter. The plants in the genus Ilex are more commonly known as hollies. The native holly, American hollyRead more
Bathe and Graze
Top Photo: Adult robin attempts to coax one of its offspring (left) to bathe in the water below waterfall at Red Wolf Enclosure. There are numerous bird families flying and foraging about our campus. Fledglings need to learn to cope with life before they go out on their own and the adults are doing their best to show them how. Finding food, bird song, and even bathing are all on the list. I came upon a group of American robinsRead more
Early Spring
Neotropical migrants won’t begin arriving on the scene for a month or more. However, our local year-round resident birds have the jump on those mainly insectivorous migrants. Some of the locals like cardinals, towhees, brown thrashers, Carolina wrens and others are in full song and some are building or investigating nest sites. American robin numbers are increasing, and keep an eye out for cedar waxwings on any shrubs or trees that still have fruit, like holly or red cedar. NorthernRead more
Reddish
When asked to describe a male cardinal, there’s little doubt in anyone’s mind what color the bird is, red. It’s not so clear-cut when describing some of our other local fauna. The red-bellied woodpecker in the above (and below) photos certainly has red on its head, but the red on it’s belly, the derivation of its common name, is not often seen. The bird, more often than not, perches with its belly against a tree trunk or branch making itRead more
Robins and Berries
You may have noticed numerous American robins about your lawn and shrubbery lately. They’re on the move. Flocks of these common birds are sweeping through our area. To most, robins are synonymous with earthworms. Who hasn’t witnessed a robin wrangling a worm out of the ground on a spring day? Truth is, besides the lowly worm robins eat plenteous fruit. If you happen to see robins swarming around a particular tree in your neighborhood, that tree may be loaded withRead more