Last weekend during the
Great Backyard Bird Count, this American Robin was keeping an eye on me as I photographed him. It was snowing hard, and I first spied this fluffy robin from the kitchen window. He looked beautiful in the snow, so I quickly put on my coat and boots and went out to photograph him. He was sitting in a Cleveland Pear tree. You can see the damage to the bark the 17-year cicadas (
Brood XIV) left behind during the summer of 2008 as they greedily sucked sap from this tree.
At one point I ran out of seed, but before I could run to the store to get some more, I just put out some Cheerios. The robins were the first takers. They were maniacs for the Cheerios, which seemed to be the perfect size for their mouths.
...daintily picking up a Cheerio...
...positioning it...
...and then swallowing it down the hatch in one gulp!
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53 comments:
Hi Kelly,
Wow and he eats them without milk or sugar ;-) Very impressive this guy, he might have been very very hungry! I love the two first shots a lot.. The effect of the snow falling is fantastic... You got some really nice pictures there! Are you still having snow now!
What stunning shots! Congrats!
Always enjoy your bird shots. I never imagined Robins to be Cheerios fans. Fruit Loops seem better suited.
When I was 8 years old, I painted plastic bird models and put them on the porch to attract live birds. To make it look like the fakes were enjoying a good meal, I stuck a Cheerio on each bird's bill.
Good shots, Kelly!
Yeah, Robins are no longer harbingers of Spring; now they stay the whole Winter.
These are fantastic shots Kelly. You really must get him on to something more sustaining like Muesli.{:)
Well, Kelly, I guess that proves that everyone loves Cheerios! Cute, cute pictures and made me hungry for some!
The first three are the best Robin shots I've ever seen. Thank you for sharing them.
Love that last pic! :D
Gorgeous!!
Hard to believe he could get that down in one gulp!
Kelly, do you charm those birds some how to get them to pose, so you can perfect photos? Is it the cheerios?
I love your blog and your photos are spectacular.
Oh Kelly, I never thought of giving the birds cheerios...What a good idea --especially when the birdseed has disappeared. I'll remember that. Thanks!!!!!
Hope you have a great weekend and week ahead. We are headed to Arkansas tomorrow.
Hugs,
Betsy
Beautiful shots Kelly of your Robin.
Wonderful shots! These guys are so puffed up it makes them look like they are pouting. The Cheerios seemed to make things all better.
Absolutely stunning photos.
Just love the detail you capture.
Brilliant!
magnifique
Simply stunning shots as usual.
Such beautifully clear, crisp close shots Kelly.
Kelly, hard to believe they would gulp it down whole. The expressions on the robin are priceless.
What great pictures! I saw robins here last week. We don't usually have them in the winter, so either they are a little off course, or they know something we don't know....Let's hope it is Spring!!
You photographs are getting better all the time kelly, your cherios are just like ours, but your Robins Aren't. :-)
Beautiful pictures of your Robin:-)
Really gorgeous shots! I would never think that birds could eat Cheerios :-)
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Have just found your blog - it's super and will be back. Love seeing US birds - they're so different from ours. I'm surprised that robin didn't choke on his Cheerio though. Perhaps you should try Rice crispies next time. Safer, I'd say :)
Love these shots of the Robin. So clear. I wouldn't have thought they'd go for Cheerios. But then, they fly up at my suet logs to snatch bites out of it. Never thought I'd see them do that either!
Never thought Robins ate anything besides worms. learned something =)
Have a happy Birthday tomorrow if I don't see you!
Great photos of a beautiful bird.
Great shots, Kelly. I only counted for 15 minutes on two different days this year. There's just not enough time for my hobby! LOL I'm glad you were able to participate.
The last picture is my favorite!
Lovely crisp photos of this most beautiful of your common birds. The colours are gorgeous! I go for the honey variety myself! (-:
They must have seen the commercial of Cheerios being low in cholesterol!
Your photos are wonderful! Robins always mean 'spring' to me. And who knew they liked Cheerios! :)
Big G Little O...Cherrios give you GO! I miss having Cherrios...
I like Cherrios too. These are great shots!
Wow, how cool! I love the hiney nut cheerios. Awesome shots of the Robins.
Wow!! This is among my favorite shots!
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You're more than welcome to stop by the **Tea House** at http://teatimereflections.blogspot.com
FABulous shots of your Robin.
BTW I'm a crunchy nut and honey lover, Lol.
You have more snow and I need waders to walk anywhere at the moment. FAB.
Great captures! Thanks for sharing. :)
those are neat pictures of the robin Kelly. I've had them eat sunflower hearts too.
Awesome captures of the Cheerio eating Robin Kelly! I love those close ups.
I have seen many a Robin choke down berry after berry that didn't look like it would fit down their throat but Cheerios? Wow!
your Robins is more different in colors then ours is. Ours have black heads. And it is hard to see its eyes.
Nice photos!
Kelly you are a fantastic photographer,these images are magic to my eyes.
John.
Absolutely stunning photos, Kelly! I've missed seeing your posts -- gotta start getting over here on a regular basis again. And who knew Robins would eat Cheerios? I guess somebody told them about that heart-healthy stuff, eh?
Goodness!! My husband said to me, "Well, I guess we can never really expect to get a shot that fabulous with our camera, now can we!" We just don't have the equipment! But I am so glad that I can see these amazing images vicariously through your lens!
I'll have to try the cheerios - the apples are nearly eaten - great (I mean really great) detail and clarity on the robins!
...I was so lucky to get so close to this robin. I stood perfectly still for about 10 minutes while he worked himself closer and close to me. I think cold temps and Cheerios overcomes normal fear! When it warms up, I bet my photo quality decreases! Thanks, everyone....
Cheerios! Huh... I'd have never thought to put those out! How lovely.
That's a fantastic series, Kelly. How can you get so close to him? What's your secret? Just some cheerios?
Fabulous shots of the Robin!!
Kelly, beautiful closeups. I love the details under the chin and around the neck.
Lol!! Love this little breakfast feast..he really is downing them whole..pretty neat shots! I had flickers at my suet feeders today. With all the snow my birds are getting desperate for food..one doesn't usually see flickers at suet feeders..oh he was gorgeous!!
Love you up close shots of that robin.. one of my fav birds!!
Great photo series- especially like seeing the inside of the Robin's bill.
Breakfast of champions! No wait, that's the wrong cereal. Looks like you're feeding them multi-grain Cheerios. Those hungry birdies... they'll eat anything! But who doesn't love Cheerios? Emmett's been helping me out with a box that got left in the pantry too long.. he doesn't mind that they're a little stale!
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