366/366 Transition

31 Thursday Dec 2020

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, juvenile Robin, robin

I consider this my best photo of 2020, partly for technical reasons – it’s sharp, the bird is looking at me, the background and composition are pleasing, but also because I caught this gorgeous wee Robin in a ‘between’ state, as it transitions from juvenile to adult, its head still showing the mottled beige and browns of its chick feathers but the first of its adult red breast feathers already present. And so this photo also seems appropriate for New Year’s Eve, as we humans transition from one calendar year to the next.

201231 robin

179/366 Bob bob bobbin’

27 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, bobbing robin, British birds, British robin, Erithacus rubecula, juvenile Robin, robin

As the song goes …
‘When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin’ along, along
There’ll be no more sobbin’ when he starts throbbin’ his old sweet song….’
~ Harry Woods, ‘When the red red robin comes bob bob bobbin’ along’, 1926

200627 robin (1) 200627 robin (2)

Woods was writing about an American Robin (Turdus migratorius), which is a very different bird from the British Robin (Erithacus rubecula), but the bobbing still applies. And this juvenile Robin, which is just moulting into its adult plumage, was bobbing very well for me during yesterday’s exercise walk.

200627 robin (3) 200627 robin (4)

144/366 Junior

23 Saturday May 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, juvenile Robin, robin

This juvenile Robin was hopping along the path in front of me yesterday, busily searching for snacks, staying a few hops ahead but not too concerned about the much larger ‘wildlife’ behind it.

200523 juvenile robin (1)

Its mottled brown colouring helped to camouflage it while it was still in the nest and continues to protect it now that it’s out foraging on its own. It almost ‘disappeared’ completely when it eventually ducked into the bushes alongside the path, though I could still see its beady eye watching me.

200523 juvenile robin (2)

Juvenile Robins don’t get their distinctive red breast feathers until they’re a few months old and undergo their first moult. By that time, hopefully, they’ll be ready to fight off or rapidly flee from the territorial disputes their adult colouring might prompt.

200523 juvenile robin (3)