Robins in the bath

One eye open - 2013 © Christopher Martin

The American robins (Turdus migratorius) which have lived in the trees behind our house for through the warm months have a habit of bathing in our little pond regularly.

Prepping for bath time - 2013 © Christopher Martin

In the summer, they seem to prefer washing up in the morning whereas in the cooler days of spring and now in autumn, they visit in closer to noon.  The other day the pond seemed more like an airport as there were eight Robins along with several Black-capped chickadees and a Northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) flying around.

A Northern Flicker resting in the backyard - 2013 © Christopher Martin

I find Flickers to be particularly handsome birds so I’ve included one here (a bit against the grain of the post).

Waiting in turn - 2013 © Christopher Martin

It was great fun and I felt like they were wringing the most out of one of the remaining relatively warm days.

Bath time - 2013 © Christopher Martin

Their enthusiasm when splashing water around with their wings is a great photography subject and high shutter speeds can freeze the action at interesting moments.

Flying drops - 2013 © Christopher Martin

I expect they will be leaving soon and will return next year as the harbingers of spring in late May a couple of weeks before spring has subdued winter.

3 responses

  1. vastlycurious.com

    You are very talented . I followed Rob right to your Blog. Great work!

    October 10, 2013 at 12:49 pm

  2. Great pictures of the robin, you are blessed with that high shutter speed and high ISO. Love the frozen splashes and on second look I could see the eyes. I took some photos of them today but they were mostly hiding but are in groups so must be close to leaving time.Surprised to hear them singing like in the spring-quite enjoyable. Good close-up of the yellow-shafted flicker. Happy shooting!

    October 5, 2013 at 11:15 pm

  3. Vicki (from Victoria A Photography)

    Wonderful shots.

    October 5, 2013 at 12:27 am

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