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Bird, bird image, bird photogrph, migrate, migration, migratory birds, nest, photogrphy, Robin, winter, Winter birds, winter photograph
Not long ago, on one of those cold, dark, wintery, gloomy, wet evenings right around dusk, I stepped outside on the porch and spotted a robin. It startled me, because I had always thought they flew south for the winter. But there she was, all alone and in the bare tree with her nest. I was wondering if she’d gotten left behind, or if she’d waited too late and wasn’t able to fly south.
Then I wondered if maybe she was one of those birds that just looked like a robin, and was actually a bird that stayed in these parts through the winter. But she was alone — there were no other birds anywhere around.
City Boy had been telling me for days before my bird sighting that he was sure a bird was nesting in our artificial plant basket that was hanging on the porch. He said, “That thing flies out of there every time I open the front door and it always startles me!”
“Hmmm, right. I’ve never seen it and I go out there all the time.”
“It’s there. Right in your fake plant. If you go look now, it will be there.” He was starting to get indignant about me acting like I thought he was hallucinating.
“Ok, I’ll go look.” So, out the door I went. Nothing. I reached up and shook the basket. Still nothing. Finally I flipped it all the way over, then looked back at Frank.
“Well, that bird is just gone when you’re out here,” he insisted. “Just wait — she’ll catch YOU off-guard one of these times and you’ll see.”
“Okie-doke.”
So, a few days later, the lone bird I discovered in our front Bradford Pear tree began to make me wonder if City Boy was actually spot-on about the bird in the basket. After all, the poor bird was probably only looking for a place to get warm.
When I no longer saw any sign of the robin in the tree and Frank had stopped being knocked over by the bird in the basket, I went out and took the basket down. Sure enough, when I pulled the greenery out, it was really apparent that a bird had been staying there.
Poor thing, I thought. I wish I knew her story.
Here’s hoping she survived and found another bird, or else found a way to migrate to warmer climates safely.
Related articles
- Winter Birds in the Park (riverparkfriends.wordpress.com)
- Winter’s for the birds: Feed and watch them (indeonline.com)
- Bird-watching, even in January (toledoblade.com)
Mrs. City Boy 
Beautiful story. A few years ago I learned that robins don’t always migrate. They often spend the winter in their breeding range, roost together in the thousands (up to a quarter-million according to All About Birds), hiding in the woods and trees. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a big flock of them two winters ago. It was quite a sight. 🙂
That would definitely be something to see! It’s good to know that sometimes robins don’t leave in the winter — I feel better knowing that she probably wasn’t “left behind.” Thank you for sharing that with me! I would feel even better if she hadn’t been alone, but I guess there are even loners in the bird category, lol!
What a cool shot! You could make a great wallpaper out of it!! Thanks for sharing:)
Coming from someone as talented as you in taking very beautiful photographs, that is quite a compliment — thank you!!
I would love to get into bird-watching of sorts… I obviously have way too much presently on my plate to juggle such a thing… but I remember growing up, that my mom had a Bird Glossary sitting on top of the microwave in the kitchen because it was an eat-in kitchen with sliding french doors that led outside, so she’d often look-up what birds were eating out of her feeders. Good memories! 🙂
Your mom sounds so cool! How many people do you know that take the time to observe and learn from what they see every day like that?! For a few years I had a birdbath out back that I could see from my kitchen window, and had a blast in the summer watching the birds there. Fun times. Wish I’d have taken your mom’s initiative and tried to learn more about them, lol!
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