What can be a better sign of spring than to see that traditional early bird, the American Robin, (Turdus migratorius). This one was looking for an early worm out in Middle Concho Park last Sunday morning.
American Robin
Actually, now that I take a closer look, by the looks of that fat belly, I believe he has already had his fill of worms. For the shot, I hand-held my Canon EOS 7D with a 500mm lens w/1.4 teleconverter. Because the bird was outside the passenger side of the car, I was unable to use my window support and had to shoot across Ann’s lap. Exposure 1/640 sec. @ f9 +0.07 EV adjustment. ISO 400. Shooting distance about 40 feet. Click the image to see an enlargement.
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Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller 
I didn’t think Robins ever left your neck of the woods (well actually, they don’t exactly disappear from up here either). But either way they are definitely on territory now, getting ready. I see them in the neighborhood every day now.
You are actually right, Lisa. The robins are here the year around, but I seldom see one, as they are not in great numbers. But I needed an apt title for the blog post. 🙂
He is the chubby one. We’ve seen no robins yet, but we have had a rather unusual and regular cacophony of red-winged blackbirds. A first in our almost 7 years here! I’ll be watching for the robins. They are the bird of spring.
Hi Shannon. If spring is really here, the robins can’t be far behind. 🙂
The robins here are darn right dumb, spring is no where in sight. They do look fat though, but that’s because they are all fluffed up to ward off the cold, not because they are full of worms. You know, maybe they’re not so dumb, I saw a small flock all huddled together on a manhole cover as the warmth coming from it had melted all the snow off from it, giving the robins a chance to warm up a bit.
Thanks, Jerry, for your great comment. I am sure you are right about them wanting to keep warm on the manhole cover.
Pretty shot of the robin in a nice setting and background.
Thanks, Phil, your comment is much appreciated.
Robins have arrived here in Canada. I started seeing them daily starting last week. Then we got more snow over the weekend. They might be sorry they got here already. But things will be warming up next week. April is such a nice month here. I’m ready for it.
Thanks for the great comment, Dave. Always nice to hear from you. I am definitely ready for spring, too.
I love this chubby little robin!!! Do males and females look the same? I miss your quizzes Bob!!! Robins are in my backyard year round… Spring or winter lol but I love listening to their sweet songs in the morning! Great post and photo! 🙂
Hi Polly, great to hear from you. To answer your question, the female of this species has much more muted colors. The back is more grayish and the breast is a very pale orange. I’m glad you live the photo. 🙂
Haha I literally laughed out loud when I read what you wrote about his fat belly! I love fat birdie pics! It might be goofy but they make me happy! 🙂
Thanks, Bonnie. I’m glad I could give you a good laugh. I always appreciate your comments, and I’m going to hit you up for game of Scrabble soon, if I ever get some really free time. I’ve been practicing beating my wife (at Scrabble). 🙂