I went by the club Monday morning to mow grass. The club grounds were serene and quiet. As I was getting ready to open the garden shed, #16, to bring out the mower I saw this bird (photo right) perched on the rope of a nearby boat holder. A young robin perhaps?Even as I was opening the shed and was bringing out the mower this feathered friend did not move. At first I thought it might be a precariously balanced decoy, a finely crafted replica meant to deceive. As I approached closer, however, I could see its chest rising and falling as it breathed. There was no eye movement. No feathers were ruffled. Just the chest rising and falling. This bird remained perched stone cold on the rope of the boat holder even as I approached as close as two feet.
If my memory serves me right, the only other wild birds I have approached closer to were injured and not able to fly.
For a few minutes in the midst of an otherwise busy Monday I was transfixed by this extraordinary encounter.
5 comments:
wow. what a moment! thanks for sharing.
may be a fledgeling having a rough day.
nachum
yes it is a young robin. robins hatch more than one brood each summer, and this one probably isn't quite secure with its wings yet.
yes it is a young robin. robins hatch more than one brood each summer, and this one probably isn't quite secure with its wings yet.
Enjoyed your post, John. Your comments reminded me of a comparable experience several years ago during a beach cleanup, when a golden-crowned kinglet (smallest N.American songbird) landed, then perched on my shoulder for several seconds while my entire class of 6th-graders gasped in amazement. The kids wrote about it in essays afterward: "I never saw a strange bird out of nowhere at somebody's shoulder...only if they belong to an owner and are well trained." Thanks for conveying the moment in words and a picture.
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