No more bobbin' for the red, red robin

The Guardian ^ | March 9, 2004 | Martin Wainwright

[ijcr]

A large and brightly coloured American tourist paid the price of brashness yesterday, vanishing down a predator's throat in front of a crowd of horrified onlookers.

Bird watchers from all over Britain were appalled when the rare American robin, which had somehow found its way to an industrial estate in Grimsby, was killed and eaten by a passing sparrowhawk.

The twitchers were still setting up cameras when the swift and unexpected tragedy took place. The robin, which ought to have been in the southern United States, was inspecting a row of drab factories and warehouses when the hawk pounced.

"It was a terrible moment," said Graham Appleton, of the British Trust for Ornithology, which had helped spread news of the visitor's arrival. "The robin was a young female, probably caught up in a jetstream and blown over here. But she didn't really live to enjoy her moment of fame."

The robin, whose scientific name Turdus migratorius derives from its long distance travels within America, was an obvious target for the sparrowhawk. A member of the thrush family and more the size of a British blackbird than a robin, it has a vivid red breast and oily-black wings and tail.

The bird's death just before lunchtime only brought forward a virtually inevitable unhappy ending, according to Dawn Balmer, the trust's migration watch organiser. She said: "I suspect that most of these rare visitors eventually succumb anyway to cold weather or a lack of food, if not predation."

[glock rocks]

My son (who lived in Houston) came to visit, and one morning he and I noticed a grackle sitting at head level about 10 feet away near the deck. I'd never seen one before. He told me that grackles in Houston are like starlings in Utah. Beautiful creature, irredescent, with fluorscent yellow Dr. Suess eyes, beak and legs.

The next week I told the guy at the bird food store I'd seen a grackle in my back yard.

You didn't see a grackle, I was told.

Yes, it was a grackle.

It wasn't a grackle. They do not fly up here.

(Okay. However, there was a grackle in my back yard.)

[glock rocks]

with fluorscent yellow Dr. Suess eyes, beak and legs

sheesh.

with fluorscent yellow Dr. Suess eyes, black beak and legs

[kt56]

[Oberon]

"It was a terrible moment," said Graham Appleton...

Oh, I don't know. It probably made the sparrowhawk's day.

"Tastes like chicken," the raptor commented.

[Constitution Day]

While the British robin may be smaller that the American species it is more than amply made up for by the large varity if Tits. Great Tits (truly magnificent), Blue Tits (cold climate don't 'ya know), Coal tits (diversity) and Marsh Tits (most likely due to damp weather) are generally in abundance. For those who like to watch "birds" the Tits in Britian are really worth a gander.

You sound like an avid tit-watcher.
You really should join the Royal Tit-Watching (Ornithological) Society of Britain!

Visit their site at Nice-Tits.org.

[Fierce Allegiance]

everybody say after me 10 times fast:

Glocks Grackle
Glocks Grackle
Glocks Grackle
Glocks Grackle
Glocks Grackle
Glocks Grackle
Glocks Grackle
Glocks Grackle
Glocks Grackle
Glocks Grackle

[grellis]

I have a problem, kind of, with another import from overseas--the house sparrow. They used to make me kind of nuts, the way they hog the feeder, until I noticed that they drew daily visits from an American Kestrel--a "sparrowhawk." The kestrel stops by for lunch every afternoon. I have also seen Red-tailed Hawks and, recently, a Northern Harrier (pretty uncommon for a downtown) snacking on the sparrows.

There's usually a bigger bird just around the corner!

[Trickyguy]

Turdus migratorius

With a name like that, it probably didn't want to live anymore.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

But what is the airspeed of an African swallow?

[albee]

"Turdus migratorius ...."

TURDUS MIGRATORIUS????

I thought that was Hillary's maiden name!

[cowtowney]

She said: "I suspect that most of these rare visitors eventually succumb anyway to cold weather or a lack of food, if not predation."

Lack of food or lack of good food? This is, afterall, England. Perhaps, the Robin just decided it would rather starve than eat kidney pot pie or some such.

[askrenr]

Grackles are terrible birds, they crap in my pool.

[general_re]

The balance sheet is still hugely in their favor:

1 American Robin vs. 1 billion European Starlings.

Perhaps, but our own agents on the Continent are enjoying remarkable success as well ;)

[Lakeside]

But black puddings trump kidney pie every time. Horrid!

Poor robin *would* rather starve to death, I know I would.

[mewzilla]

My little bro had a grackle nest in his RV (bro left one of the little bay doors on the outside open). He wanted to commit grackle-icide, but I got a big hamburger flipper and scooped out the nest and put it in one of the nearby trees. I found out afterwards that one of the neighborhood cats later found the nest. So much for good intentions :(

[nmh]

Yeah ... and liberals support premeditated murder - abortion.

[Gritty]

Bird watchers from all over Britain were appalled...

One really has to admire the stoicism of the Brits.

Radical Muslims are taking over their Island and they're concerned about Christopher Robin!