One Australian photographer’s quest for an elusive bird Down Under has born fruit after months of searching.
Having moved to Melbourne in 2006, registered nurse Deepak Kumar started Googling Australian birds, hoping to set up a photography trip near his home.
He stumbled on a bird online which looks like something almost out of this world.
With its bright-pink breast feathers, a male pink robin caught his eye.
“I thought it wasn’t a real bird initially because it looked unreal. In short, too cute and pretty to be true,” he told The Epoch Times. “But then I realized it was a real bird that I can find roughly 2 to 3 hours’ drive from my place.”
Kumar called up his birding friend, and they started planning trips in search of the pink robin. It wasn’t easy. They spent many months searching the dense forests of Victoria without any luck.
“We almost gave up on this bird,“ he said. ”We still had a couple of more spots to visit and explore but we took a break and started focusing on other species.”
After a few months, Kumar and his friend resumed their quest to find the robin.
“We went to Erskine Falls in Lorne, southwest of Melbourne. We followed the water downstream,” he explained. “I was walking in front of my friend when he whispered to me, ‘Stop and look up.’ I looked up and my heart missed a beat or two and I said ‘Oh my God.’”
And there it was, sitting straight up roughly 5 feet above his head. “I couldn’t stop smiling,” Kumar said. “One of the best experiences of my life.”
“It is very hard to find this bird but luckily, it isn’t too shy,” Kumar said. “However, you do need to be quiet enough and have a lot of patience.
“Late morning is the best time because insects start to become more active at that time.”
While male pink robins display bright-pink breast feathers, females are grayish brown in color.
The rare robin is not easy to find, mostly, because their habitat in the rainforests can easily get the hopeful photographer turned around. Luckily, Kumar’s patience and dedication, paid off in the end.
