Harbinger of Spring

The Robins briefly stopped for a couple days on their way north about three weeks ago. It was good to see them and they didn't mind me taking a few pictures while they foraged for food. One of their favorite foods are yaupon holly berries and there are usually still plenty of the now fermented berries in late February. I can't prove that they get tipsy from the berries, but they do seem to stagger a bit after gorging themselves. They also see to slur their chirps.

They are usually a sure sign that Spring has arrived -- not that we really had a real winter this time around. I am not sure that we actually had any freezing weather for more than a couple hours this past winter.

Very pretty Robin there, Bill Ours don't make good harbingers, simply because they're too daft to leave when the weather goes downhill

Excellent shot Bill... I have to agree with Eric on the "daft" aspect of the robin as I have too many of them wintering over here on the "frozen tundra."

Dave

They just showed up here about two weeks ago Bill.Now if it would just stop raining a show a little sunshine it would feel like Spring.
Handsome lil devil this guy here is...Nice!

I've had them around all winter and I know that just now Spring is around the corner!
Maybe they are daft!
BTW Bill, before I forget, that is as good an exposure and capture of a Robin as I think I've seen around here. Love the foreground clover too!

Snydremark wrote in post #14088396
Very pretty Robin there, Bill Ours don't make good harbingers, simply because they're too daft to leave when the weather goes downhill

Thanks for the compliment, Eric.

dbriz wrote in post #14088645
Excellent shot Bill... I have to agree with Eric on the "daft" aspect of the robin as I have too many of them wintering over here on the "frozen tundra."

Dave

Thanks for the compliment, Dave.

PIX-R-IT wrote in post #14088874
They just showed up here about two weeks ago Bill.Now if it would just stop raining a show a little sunshine it would feel like Spring.
Handsome lil devil this guy here is...Nice!

I'll tell him that you said he is handsome, Pete.

CamFan01 wrote in post #14090692
I've had them around all winter and I know that just now Spring is around the corner!
Maybe they are daft!
BTW Bill, before I forget, that is as good an exposure and capture of a Robin as I think I've seen around here. Love the foreground clover too!

Thanks for the great compliment, Steve.

I have seen a few of these guys as well. they are birds that seem to be ok with people near by.

So funny that Robin means Spring to you when over here Robin means Winter! Great shot, Bill. The green sets off the bird nicely. Lovely.

Nicely done Bill. This is not the easiest bird on the planet to photograph.

nice one, Bill

No Angle wrote in post #14095451
I have seen a few of these guys as well. they are birds that seem to be ok with people near by.

Levina de Ruijter wrote in post #14095768
So funny that Robin means Spring to you when over here Robin means Winter! Great shot, Bill. The green sets off the bird nicely. Lovely.

Diamond Lil wrote in post #14097584
Nicely done Bill. This is not the easiest bird on the planet to photograph.

dgraham329 wrote in post #14098629
nice one, Bill

Thanks everybody for he nice comments. I think that our one week of Spring is now over and we are getting into Summer weather already.

That is a great robin, Bill. I'll echo Steve in what he said "that is as good an exposure and capture of a Robin as I think I've seen around here". I alwyas have to work to (a) get them close, and (b) expose them properly. Good job!

Wallace River wrote in post #14101881
That is a great robin, Bill. I'll echo Steve in what he said "that is as good an exposure and capture of a Robin as I think I've seen around here". I alwyas have to work to (a) get them close, and (b) expose them properly. Good job!

Wow, Ian, that is a mighty huge compliment that you and Steve have given me.

This robin was approximately thirty feet away and the image is a 25% downsize and crop of the original.

I have been working lately to optimize the exposure in my bird images and I am using a Pentax 1° Digital Spotmeter to give me a sanity check on the exposure determined by the camera. I am also finding that less is often more when post processing bird images.

great shot Bill

kmunroe wrote in post #14105999
great shot Bill

Thanks, Kenny.