Monday, January 23, 2012

Robin flocks


It's been busy at the hollies over the last few days.

Large numbers of robins (200+) have been devouring the berries on the row of Ilex opaca cultivar hollies above the education building at the garden where I work. They visit the hollies, collect berries, then retreat nearby to eat them, then repeat.

This morning, in rain, before I began a program, the circuit from holly to perching trees nearby  (in this case, large Cryptomeria and Southern Magnolia) was in full swing.  Their continuous melodic murmurs were more than evident outside, but at a lower level from inside the building.
a robin eating fruit (from a royalty-free photo used in The Nature of Clemson)
The year-round vegetable gardening class participants were fascinated, and we peered outside for a bit before we started the class. 

By the end of the morning, the flock had moved to the lower row of hollies (also Ilex opaca cultivars) below the nature center (the lower level of the building), presumably finished with the upper row after 4 days of feasting.
(This is a duplicate post from Natural Gardening).

No comments: