that is so amazing - both that he could recover and live so well with that injury, and that you would see a bird you can definitely identify 2 years in a row!
i'm no good with identifying species, botanical or otherwise. but we have some flowers like that up on the hill, a deeper purple. some kind of iris?
We get those flowers too and we call them surprise lilies. We don't have any so far this year as we are in a drought.
That robin is certainly an inspiration. It may be wounded, but it keeps on with life. Love it.
Wow! I'm amazed and happy to see that robin back in your garden! Yes, how true about some living things enduring so much, and carrying on regardless. The little flowers look familiar, but I can't place them at the moment. Do they have a scent of any kind?
R's: That's amazing. He's back, and you could recognize him! I remember last year your post on recognition, and it has had an occupation in my mind ever since (plants are so easy, they don't move!).
The plants in the background: try "purple deadnettle", or "henbit". If it's what I think, it would be a non-native mint, Lamium purpurea, or Lamium amplexicaule.
Check out some of the photos here.
WOW! Alive and well, who woulda thought. And that's definately a stick through it's chest. just wow.
Poor little guy -- what spirit he has though. Sigh.
I'm glad he's back.
And are you saying that I should stop drawing attention to the stick in my chest ("Will you look at it?! It's huge! Yeah, I don't know how I can get anything done today. I mean, look at this stick!") and just get busy with the flying and the nesting and the birdseed already?
Just surviving two years is probably a feat in the robin world, to do it with a spear in your side seems incredible. I would say he has lots of pluck, but birds really hate that phrase.
Yes, Wayne, I'm sure you're right. We've got some here in the herb garden. I kept thinking of pulmonaria which is growing right next to the lamium.
FC is so clever.
The gradation of color in the leaves from normal green at the bottom to the soft purplish at the top suggests deadnettle.
It's non-native, but I like it nonetheless.
kathy a-- The only reason I can identify this fella is the spear in its chest. Otherwise, he's just one more red-breasted robin going for the worms in our lawn.
peacechick mary-- Thanks to the help of our blogging buddies, the flower has been identified as a dead nettle. Very cool. Yes, this robin is definitely an inspiration. He's really one tough bird.
bev-- It really is something to know a bird can endure such a thing. He's lucky because it doesn't interfere with his wing, heart, or lungs. He looks healthy, doesn't he? Wayne identified the plant below.
Wayne-- Ding ding ding, we have a winner! Thank you so much. You named it. It is a dead nettle. The picture matches perfectly. I've been trying to identify this plant for a while. Woohoo. I love knowing what it is.
We are so pleased that the robin survived and returned to our yard. If I could keep him and care for him, I would. I like this guy a lot!
sbgypsy-- He is quite a bird. We're happy he's back.
Liza-- Last year I wanted to "rescue" him. I'm glad dave over at Bird Learning Center explained that it would probably cause him more harm. He looks healthy and good, and that pleases us immensely.
kathyr-- I was wondering if all the female birds liked this guy more than the others. You know, is that a stick in your chest or are you happy to see me?
FC-- LOL! That's very funny. Yes, this bird does indeed have a lot of pluck. Quite the survivor.
bev & wayne-- Dead nettle. Makes me so happy to know what this plant is. We've got it EVERYWHERE!
Robin, again, my home computer won't let me post via Haloscan. How strange is that?
Anyway, it is wonderful to see that little bird return - I'm sorry he still has that stick in his shoulder, but he certainly has courage. Don't know what those flowers are, but they sure are lovely.
Those little flowers completely blanket our backyard garden space, and I fear they are some kind of spreading weed. But in small numbers they look like wildflowers...
(No, we still have to get going with the veggie garden. Our son is home from cliimbing, so we now have more muscle power available.)
Wow. That robin is amazing.
How cool is that? I am happy to see your Robin return again this summer. Amazing!
I wonder if the folks that see him in the winter season (down south?) share in your joy at another year survived?
Great to see the robin back and doing well. You know, feathers make birds look much bigger than their bodies really are. I would guess that the twig is not as far into the center of its body as we think; maybe more like a piercing. Still it is amazing that this bird seems unfazed.
I see you have figured out the purple dead nettle already. Both that and hanbit are all over our yard. The hens do bite the flowers from both of them!
Amazing that the Robin survives. Also amazing that the stick has not rotted.
I love KathyR's comment -- it was going through my head even before I read it.
What a handsome fellow he is, and that object looks like a wood stick. How the hell...?
You are a poet, my friend.
DivaJood:
I have been having trouble with Haloscan comments, too. For some reason, it has become incompatible with Norton when it was never a problem before. I have to disable Norton to comment on Haloscan now. Adding Haloscan to the "ok" list hasn't helped, either. -sigh-
divajood-- Fortunately, the flowers have been identified. They are Dead Nettles. For some reason, I just love that name!
isabelita-- I'm glad to hear that your son is home, and that you'll start your garden soon. More days like today and things will be blooming everywhere.
Dawn-- I don't know where this group of robins spend their winters, but they do arrive back in washington pretty early in the season. I hope someone notices him wherever he winters.
rcwbiologist-- I figured that this piercing managed to miss everything that is vital. How lucky, eh!
rurality-- Roger thought the same thing about the stick rotting. I'm not sure why it doesn't, but maybe it just dried out, and got good and hard.
taradharma-- He is a handsome fella. We like watching him dig around for food. He seems very vital and healthy.
kathyr-- That's a shame about haloscan and norton. I may do a little searching around to see if there's been any other fixes that people have come up with. I'll report back.
It's wonderful to see that this bird survived for another year in such a condition. He's a strong boy!
Thanks
E
hmm, learned something about that little flower! Never seen one of those before! Love the robin pictures!
Dapper Pierce is back! Must be spring.
What a survivor!
hmmmmm...I would have guessed this is Ajuga. It was all over our yard when I was a child, and I saw some on Whidbey Island a couple of Easters ago and asked my hubby to take a picture of it. I had no idea it was anything but a weed and then saw it as a groundcover in a nursery. See Ajuga.
Purple dead nettles are interesting in that they can bloom almost all winter here in Ontario. I saw them every month except in February when they were covered in snow this year.
It's been quite a while since I last stopped by as I have been a bit too involved in Flickr photos but it's great to see that you are posting. I hope to get back to posting on my blog when the snow melts. (Almost no snow in January but now in April it is coming down.)
Nous habitons la campagne .
Souvent , nous rencontrons des oiseaux blessés ou des jeunes tombés du nid .
Le plus souvent , il est facile de les soigner .
Here's the translation for the above comment. Well the best I can transcribe from French.
E
We live in the countryside. We often meet wounded birds or young people fallen from the nest. It is Generally easy to look after them.
I'm so glad YR (your robin) is back. I can hardly bear to look at the photos-they frighten me so.
Have a great weekend.
what beautiful, powerful photos! There's something very special about that bird.
Wow!
That li'l dude is totally my new Hero.
I'd go with the other guesses on the purple flowers, but they sure look like the clover that grows around here (Lake Erie area, Ohio.)
whisker-- I agree, he's pretty impressive. Even if this is just a flesh wound, he still has to go through life pierced like this.
monarch-- Purple deadnettle is considered an invasive species in Wahington. Dang.
jeanne marie-- All the bird songs everywhere we walk, that tells us it's spring too!
sky-- I just checked Ajuga, and while it looks similar, the Purple Deadnettle is a dead ringer!
OW-- I've been wondering where you've been. Hope you caught the bobcat post from last week. I thought of you, and thought you might like him.
Bonjour Jean! It's been a long time since we've seen you here. Welcome, and thanks for stopping by.
Whisker thank you for that translation.
YT-- He really looks healthy. I know the pictures can be a bit creepy, but he still looks to be thriving and surviving so well.
Tree-- Hello! It's so nice to see you here. It's been a while since we heard from you. Hope you are doing well.
Michael-- Yes, that little dude is quite a tough little guy. Hey, whenever I go over to your blog, it hangs my computer up. Something takes forever to load, and then the page just won't scroll. It's a bummer, because I would like to read your site and comment. Just thought you should know.
Beautiful robin! Beautiful, Robin!
Glad to see the little guy is still around.
wow - what a story and allegory and inspiration. truly amazing!
That is neat on the bird and yes, inspirational to us. I wonder how that ever got under his skin. I woke up this morning thinking of all the things getting 'under my skin' at the moment and need to substitute the image of that bird everytime I come up with one as a way to stop doing that.
We also have that plant, never heard what it was but am glad someone here knew. I know about nettles, never heard of deadnettle...
Yeah, I was thinking the flowers were henbit. It's great that the robin learned how to live with that foreign object. It looks healthy, so it's coping skills are very good
Happy Easter
Hawks are so cool.
What an amazing sight! How lucky for you to be able to see this robin not just once but again. Hopefully he/she will continue to return.
What a strong and determined little guy! My heart breaks every time I see him. I cannot imagine what his life is like. Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos and the story.
-Jill-
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