American Robin taking a Bath

American Robin Having a Bath

I saw this Robin taking a bath in the river at Carburn Park way back in the spring. It was the first time I had ever seen a Robin in the water, never mind actually bathing. It was pretty neat to see!

I’ve been going through a bunch of old photos from the past year that I never got around to processingm so there will likely be quite a few out-of-season posts like this one coming up in the coming weeks.

American Robin Having a Bath

American Robin Having a Bath

Hungry Red Robin

Hungry Red Robin

For all the hunting and digging that Robin’s do, it’s not all that often that you find one with a meal in its beak. I saw this one hopping along the grass and it was really just instinct that made me swing my camera around to take a couple of snaps. I didn’t even realize what I had until I was looking at the images on my computer later. That looks like a really tasty treat it has in its mouth!

Urban Red-winged Blackbird

I was very surprised to discover a Red-winged Blackbird eating from the bird feeder in my backyard this weekend. It spooked when we went outside to watch it, but it came back soon after. My wife and I sat and watched it eat while the kids went crazy playing in the yard. I don’t know how common it is for a blackbird to eat from a feeder, but I’ve never seen it before, so I had to get some pictures to share.

It’s been pretty exciting to watch all the birds come to the feeder through the spring. Among the many House Sparrows that are year round residents in the neighborhood, I’ve also had several White-crowned Sparrows, many Robins, two pairs of House Finches, and (also surpisingly for me) a trio of Common Grackles. Of course there have been many other birds as well, but these are the repeat visitors…

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the Blackbird from the other day. Because of the patchy colors on the wing it appears that this bird is a juvenile (1st summer).

Urban Blackbird

Urban Blackbird

Urban Blackbird

Urban Blackbird