Dive Bombing Robin

Wallpaper Description:

UPDATE: July 2016 - I've uploaded an enlargement of part of this photo... the robin & it's shadow are a lot larger. Here's the link:

https://animals.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/2140137/

This is the 4th of 10 photography walls I’m uploading about some robins who raised a family in my backyard. The photos center mostly around the male robin. He was so dedicated to protecting his family that he should get a “Super Robin of the Year” award!

The robins built a nest under my kitchen window. I was suprised that they chose such a low place to build it--only 5 feet off of the ground! But the nest was protected, under an overhang of bricks, and well concealed by vines of Ivy.

At first I thought it was great to have a robin nest there. That was before I realized that the male robin would think of Katie, my collie dog, as a deadly enemy. Every time she went into the yard, she got dive bombed by the bird relentlessly.

Katie didn’t even know where the nest was, and she never did discover it. All she knew was that she kept being attacked by some crazy bird. She didn’t like it one bit. Katie, who tends to be a bit timid, started spending less and less time outside.

I was annoyed-- this was HER backyard, not that robin’s! I started going outside with her, to give her some moral support. I took my camera with me.

When I sat outside with Katie, she still got dive bombed, but she started getting used to it. She even started snapping back at the robin, and she eagerly chased him if he happened to be on the ground. I was glad that she started having some fun with the situation. (The robin was incredibly speedy, and she never came remotely near to catching him.)

I ended up took over 100 pictures of him with my camera. I'm uploading some of the best ones.

This turned out to be one of the most exciting photo opportunities that I’ve ever had. I went from being annoyed with the robins to being very thankful for them.

CollieSmile

PS. I'm making a journal entry to go with these wallpapers; an (illustrated) story about the Robin vs Katie.

Here is the link to it:
http://my.desktopnexus.com/CollieSmile/journal/katie-and-the-robin-family-a-true-story-9513/