American Robin perched in a snowy Crabapple tree – Nikon D500, f8, 1/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Spring is trying to make its presence known so I have felt an urgency to photograph as many birds as I can in the snow we have gotten this month before winter leaves us here in the Salt Lake Valley. On February 16th I woke to fresh snow on the ground and I knew I wanted to see if the American Robins were still feeding in the crabapple trees close to home. I was in luck and spent just a little over 15 minutes with the robins before a kestrel flew in and they all took off.
American Robin on a bright winter morning – Nikon D500, f8, 1/4000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Some of the American Robins were perched in the crabapple trees, some were flying overhead and a few were foraging on the ground. This American Robin stopped foraging briefly and gave me a great view of it with snow on top of its bill.
Winter American Robin on a snow bank – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/5000, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Later this robin seemed to be giving me the “eye” as it stood on top of a small snow bank next to the trunk of a crabapple tree.
American Robin in snow – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/5000, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I love photographing birds in the snow because the images have a beautiful simplicity. This American Robin and its shadow in the snow is about as simple as it gets.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my American Robin photos plus facts and information about this species.
Beautiful, thank you for not overlooking the common birds.
One thing that amazes me is the color variations in birds. At one of the NWRA conferences in Washington we practiced triage on deceased birds from a rehab in the area. I was amazed at the dark coloration of the dead robins, all the locals were drawn to a lighter robin and commenting on it . The light robin looked normal to me, we typically have the coloration here in Utah.
I thought your last series of Robin pics was terrific and this set is just as good. The colors are riveting. Thanks Mia.
Were there any “flocks” of robins?
I’ve raised quite a few of these when I couldn’t get them back to their real parents or get them adopted by another set of parents, which they will do…I noticed that Mary K. felt the same way about how easy it is to overlook these birds…saw her comment after making mine….
It’s so easy, and such a mistake, to take these beautiful birds for granted…I especially love the first shot…
Wonderful images, many thanks.
Thanks for another round of great images! The Robin facts are great. Sometimes it seems too easy to take these common birds for granted.