Mountain Ash

The Grand Marais Recreation Area and Campground has about 100 mountain ash trees that most years are laden with berries. They also are the last trees to lose their colorful leaves.

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Two large groups of birds that migrate through in the fall feasting on the berries are robins and waxwings.

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This week the robins were here by the hundreds feeding on the mountain ash.

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They flip the berry in the air before swallowing it as you can see in this photo.

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Here the robins eye looks cloudy. Many birds and some animals have what is called the nictitating membrane. This third eyelid sweeps horizontally across the cornea protecting and moistening the bird’s eye. They can see through the membrane so when feeding next to sharp branches they often close it.

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In the two hours that I photographed them they completely striped this tree of all its berries.

I was fortunate to get this one flying through with a berry in its mouth.

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