{"id":63734,"date":"2020-02-05T06:32:18","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T13:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=63734"},"modified":"2025-05-26T04:08:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T09:08:41","slug":"winter-american-robin-foraging-in-a-crabapple-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/02\/05\/winter-american-robin-foraging-in-a-crabapple-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter American Robin Foraging In A Crabapple Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WinterWinter American Robin perched in a crabapple tree \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday morning I believe I made a mistake when I didn’t listen to my inner voice that said “Stay close to home, the robins are feeding on the crabapples now” and went up into the mountains instead on what turned out to be a wild goose chase where I didn’t fire my shutter button at all. I should have listened to my instincts, stayed close to home, and photographed the American Robins to my heart’s content.<\/p>\n

All was not lost though because before heading home with my tail tucked between my legs I did photograph some American Robins foraging on the ripened fruits of crabapple trees. I probably would have gotten better photos had I sat with the robins earlier in the morning when the light was softer but I am glad that I took these photos and that the light was nice enough.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican Robin and ripe crabapples \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Last February when the American Robins were gorging on the fruits of these same crabapple trees I was able to spend several mornings photographing them. Most of those images were of the robins down on the ground feeding in the snow and very few of them were taken with the birds in the trees.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I was able to focus on this American Robin as it foraged in the branches of a crabapple tree and took a nice, long series of images of the handsome red-breasted thrush.<\/p>\n

\"WinterWinter American Robin picking at a twig \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I wanted to share this photo of the robin because for some reason seeing it in this pose while picking at the twig it reminded me of a crow or a raven. Maybe that is just me.<\/p>\n

Side note: With spring just around the corner now I am looking forward to the first time I hear the American Robins singing before dawn<\/span><\/a> this year. I know some people complain about them singing so early in the morning but to me it is an auditory delight.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican Robin eating a ripe Crabapple in winter \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/3200, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This American Robin had a bit of trouble swallowing the whole crabapple that was in its bill but eventually it was able to get it down.<\/p>\n

I wonder what kind of photos I would have gotten if I had not gone up into the mountains and had photographed the American Robins filling themselves up with crabapples instead. I am not sure but I do know that I should to listen to my inner voice more carefully.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click\u00a0here<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to see more of my American Robin photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday I was able to focus on this American Robin as it foraged in the branches of a crabapple tree and took a nice, long series of images of the handsome red-breasted thrush.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":147310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[456,27,709,26],"tags":[4004,2427,4897,6577,6969,8565,4286,4136,6667,7672,4104,8566,6642,5199,4018,3844,4881,4427,4076,1048,6046,373],"class_list":["post-63734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-robins","category-avian","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-american-robin","tag-branch","tag-branches","tag-crabapple","tag-crabapple-tree","tag-eating","tag-foraging","tag-fruit","tag-fruits","tag-perched","tag-picking-at","tag-robin","tag-robins","tag-sky","tag-thrush","tag-thrushes","tag-tree","tag-trees","tag-turdus-migratorius","tag-twig","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-winter-crabapple-tree-mia-mcpherson-7141.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-gzY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":56237,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/02\/19\/more-american-robins-with-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":63734,"position":0},"title":"More American Robins With Snow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"On February 16th I woke to fresh snow on the ground and I knew I wanted to see if the American Robins were still feeding in the crabapple trees close to home.","rel":"","context":"In "American Robins"","block_context":{"text":"American Robins","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/thrushes\/american-robins\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Robin on a bright winter morning, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-snow-adult-mia-mcpherson-4609.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-snow-adult-mia-mcpherson-4609.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-snow-adult-mia-mcpherson-4609.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-snow-adult-mia-mcpherson-4609.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56110,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/02\/13\/an-abundance-of-foraging-american-robins\/","url_meta":{"origin":63734,"position":1},"title":"An Abundance Of Foraging American Robins","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Two afternoons ago when I left the local pond to head home I saw at least 75-100 foraging American Robins in some crabapple trees and on the ground in the snow.","rel":"","context":"In "American Robins"","block_context":{"text":"American Robins","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/thrushes\/american-robins\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy American Robin swallowing a crabapple whole, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-winter-snow-fruit-mia-mcpherson-2915.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-winter-snow-fruit-mia-mcpherson-2915.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-winter-snow-fruit-mia-mcpherson-2915.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-winter-snow-fruit-mia-mcpherson-2915.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109842,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/26\/winter-american-robin-in-a-crabapple\/","url_meta":{"origin":63734,"position":2},"title":"Winter American Robin In A Crabapple","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"After an overnight snowfall I drove to a grove of crabapples. I photographed this winter American Robin perched in one of the fruit bearing trees in low light.","rel":"","context":"In "American Robins"","block_context":{"text":"American Robins","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/thrushes\/american-robins\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Winter American Robin in a crabapple, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-robin-crabapple-mia-mcpherson-1297.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-robin-crabapple-mia-mcpherson-1297.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-robin-crabapple-mia-mcpherson-1297.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-robin-crabapple-mia-mcpherson-1297.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":118714,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/03\/low-light-american-robin\/","url_meta":{"origin":63734,"position":3},"title":"Low Light American Robin","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When I photographed this American Robin perched in a crabapple tree last winter the light was low, the sky was cloudy, and there was snow on the ground.","rel":"","context":"In "American Robins"","block_context":{"text":"American Robins","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/thrushes\/american-robins\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Low light American Robin in a crabapple tree, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-robin-adult-high-key-mia-mcpherson-7372.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-robin-adult-high-key-mia-mcpherson-7372.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-robin-adult-high-key-mia-mcpherson-7372.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-robin-adult-high-key-mia-mcpherson-7372.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":78323,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/01\/25\/winter-american-robins\/","url_meta":{"origin":63734,"position":4},"title":"Winter American Robins","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"There is a skiff of snow on the ground again this morning and it has reminded me that I should look for winter American Robins feeding on crabapples today.","rel":"","context":"In "American Robins"","block_context":{"text":"American Robins","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/thrushes\/american-robins\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Robin looking for crabapples in snow, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-in-snow-mia-mcpherson-6863.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-in-snow-mia-mcpherson-6863.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-in-snow-mia-mcpherson-6863.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-in-snow-mia-mcpherson-6863.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":123309,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/10\/american-robin-on-a-sunny-march-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":63734,"position":5},"title":"American Robin On A Sunny March Morning","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the first American Robin that I have photographed in local crabapple trees all winter long. Usually, by March, the crabapples are eaten and long gone.","rel":"","context":"In "American Robins"","block_context":{"text":"American Robins","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/thrushes\/american-robins\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Robin on a sunny March morning, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-crabapple-tree-sunny-mia-mcpherson-9572.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-crabapple-tree-sunny-mia-mcpherson-9572.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-crabapple-tree-sunny-mia-mcpherson-9572.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-crabapple-tree-sunny-mia-mcpherson-9572.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}