Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Thursday, March 13. 2008

Bird of the Week: The American Robin

Turdus in the snow: What an ugly name for almost everyone's favorite American Bird bird (except for the Ruffed Grouse), our good buddy Turdus migratorius. The Robin. We have small flocks of them all winter here, living on berries and old fruit, but they are on the move north now, and we see more - mainly flocks of males.

Yesterday I heard their spring song for the first time. Today we have snow and that spring song has been put on hold.

Did you know that they used to be hunted for food? And that they are really woodland thrushes who have found a way to adapt to suburbia?

Learn more about a familiar friend: American Robin

Photo: Sugar maple full of Robins, March 2007.

Posted by Bird Dog in Natural History and Conservation at 12:19 | Comments (5) | Trackbacks (0)

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First Robin I've seen was perched in the peach tree yesterday morn as I cme in from the java post and he looked a mite slim.

He poked around in the dormant grass for awhile but it was slim pickins.

Robins are harbingers of spring in these parts.

Yippy, it's grand to see Turdus, again!
#1 Leag on 2008-03-13 17:02 (Reply)
Toss them raisins.

One in a tree will sometimes investigate raisins tossed on the snow ; or clear an area (which will itself attract robins) and put some raisins there.

Often a single Robin will take up guarding that raisin pile, though, and chase all comers away.

Once you have them hooked, they follow you around and beg.

They take away three raisins for personal consumption ; if they take six, which is about the baggage limit, they're feeding chicks.
#2 Ron Hardin (Link) on 2008-03-13 20:52 (Reply)
Squirls will race for the raisins and one slim Robin is no match for the tribe in these acres.

But I appreciate the tip Mr. Hardin and will raisin the Robin, next time I have loll to sit in the yard to discourage the squirls.

Oh, there is no snow here but plenty in the foothills and the mountains.
#3 Leag on 2008-03-13 21:08 (Reply)
I echo Leag's comment above. As a tradition, every spring when I see my first robin, I say out loud in a deep, ponderous tone:

"The robin; harbinger of spring."

Red-breasted robins are the drunks of the bird world. I grew up surrounded by them and they provided us with endless hours of amusement as kids. They get drunk from eating ripe pyracantha berries, stagger around, fly into things, and even sound drunk when they're chirping.

And they say Mother Nature has no sense of humor.

Did you catch the typical humans-are-bad slant in the linked article, it being on a "nature" site?

"...the robin is the most widespread thrush in North America thanks to a tolerance for human-modified habitats."

"Tolerance."

Yeah, those robins sure are "tolerant" of the fifteen billion worm beds we provide for them, aka "lawns." As you watch them pull one juicy worm after another out of the freshly manicured lawn, you can just feel the inhumanity. :)
#4 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2008-03-14 12:04 (Reply)
I'm lookin' forward to sharing some rum soaked raisins with our winged buddies.

It snowed here today, a fresh spring fall of about 4" between 5 and 10 am this morning after I had a conversation around 4am with a couple of racoons that water from the pot of water on the front porch.

Racoons are bold critters and advance when met in the yard.

I suppose they may be drunks by nature , too.
#4.1 Leag on 2008-03-14 13:21 (Reply)

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