Every year we await the return of the Robins and Jays at the end of winter. Much like those in California await the return of the Swallows to Capistrano, though, perhaps, with a little less significance. This year was a surprise as it would seem that they all came to our holly tree before heading out to all points in the area!
Please click for captions and a closer view
American Robin Redbreast
There were more than twice this amount up in the holly tree!
And, all were throwing the berries to the ground!
The squirrel made sure he got his fair share of the bounty too.
They left nothing behind when they flew off.
Life on the Farmlet 
Isn’t it lovely to see them return and mark the start of the warmer season. Our robins stay all winter and give a splash of colour when it is needed.
Annie, normally, we have a few hangers-on here. We should have known something was afoot when they all left at the end of fall! 😉
Really? Robins? I am so jealous! We have about 2.5 feet of snow on the ground, and temps as low as -30 in the last few weeks. The poor locals are struggling, robins not coming back anytime soon!
I had been complaining about the cold all winter, Kathleen. You just made me grateful for only going down to 7 degrees for the lowest temp this winter. Your winter has been brutal! We’ve been kept abreast of it in the news down here for weeks. Spring will happen, but Old Man Winter doesn’t appear to be done with any of us yet.
I have seen the first robins (just a few) this week. We are to have a winter storm the end of this week and into early next week but after that they are saying we’ll have spring-like weather again. I sure hope so!
We had that snow here yesterday, Lori. It is beautiful and actually warmer by comparison to the wind and ultra freezing temperatures we’ve been having lately! Let’s hear it for spring!
I like these natural rhythms that signal the change of season. We’ve had a lot of northern birds throughout the past few months, escaping from winter up there…
Kate, let’s hear it for natural rhythms of nature! We are all tired of the c-c-c-c-cold here in the states. I want heat! (I always regret saying this in the heat of summer. 😀 )
Oh, I hear you, but flip that on its head and you’ll get an idea of what I’m feeling!
Exactly, Kate! We will be steaming by summer here too.
That was a lot of robins. Ours live more solitary lives.
Tom, ours are normally a bit solitary too, though not this time. I think they are also quite large compared to yours. About 8 inches (+ or -) from beak to tail!. Aren’t yours small enough to fit in our palm? Or am I thinking of another bird you have there?
Our robins would fit indeed fit in my hand.
! 😀 !
I thought the other day that we had more robins than usual hanging around the yard. Today I saw a little wren and they are not usually in our yard. So I’d agree, the spring migration has begun. That means at least one more snow to see robins shivering in it!
Nancy
Nancy, those little wrens spend the winter here with us. I love their song and delicate build. By the look of it around here, most of those robins are on their way to you!
No Robins returning here yet we are having a snow storm, very unusual for Georgia. We are so looking for spring has been very cold and too much snow here this year.
Ellen, we got that storm yesterday too! Six inches worth! It made me wonder where all the little robins were bunked for the storm.
I’ve seen the early scouts but not the main group yet.
Anita, I didn’t even have early scouts this time. They all just descended! When I heard the racket out by the barn I was sure they were starlings, which I hate, but no! It was lovely to see them get to all those berries first. 🙂
Funny you should mention the jays. I’m just sure that my same bluejays are back — if not the same adults, the next generation that remembers where mom and dad brought them for free meals while they were growing up.
About two weeks ago, there suddenly were groups of ten or more jays in some trees. Then, about last weekend, I heard it — the call of a blue jay from about two blocks away, where the good trees are. I jumped up, grabbed a handful of shelled pecans from the fridge, and put them out on a little table by the window. By the time I got back inside, there they were. And now, every morning, and sometimes in the afternoon, one or two jays stop by for a snack. When the babies hatch and are being raised, it will be like back-and-forth like you can’t believe, as they make regular runs to get a little tidbit.
I missed seeing any waxwings this year. Either the waxwings or robins have come through, because every yaupon, etc, in the area has suddenly been stripped clean!
They do love those red berries; don’t they, Linda? The holly tree out by the barn was the most heavily laden it has ever been and in one day it was stripped! I think your bluejays always remember their way home, and all the more so, because you feed them. 😉
No locals yet as we’re having another snowfall – no complaints from me. That photo of the robin is really great, Lynda!
We got six inches of snow yesterday, Laurie! Thank you so much! All of these were through the spare room window and peaking through the curtain. Difficult. That robin in the dogwood was the best of the bunch.
It’s snowing again here as I type this… but the squirrels were already out to play in it this morning! We have some hardy critters around here… and this winter, they pretty much have to be to survive!
Yes, Bill, I often wonder how the little creatures that don’t fly south for the winter can survive all this winter has thrown at them. And, surprise, we got snowed on too! Only six inches, but it is an epic in the minds of all the children around here! It is sticking till Saturday. 😀
Robins stay in our area, but we don’t see them much until the berries ripen. A few robins have shown up recently.
Patti, I have quite a few birds that come for the holly and dogwood berries. I have to do battle to keep the starlings away long enough for the natives to arrive every winter. I hear them land and then grab my stick and trashcan lid to bang in their direction. So far, this method of noise-making keeps them moving on to the winter farm fields to forage. My neighbors surely think I’m nuts, but is so worth it. This year I had a Pileated woodpecker that visited the dogwood between the barn and our house. Sneaky fellow always kept the sun behind him and branches in front so I couldn’t get a decent photo of him, but to see him that close…awesome!
Starlings do announce their arrival–noisy bickering. I’m glad you found a way to keep them moving–and they have somewhere else to eat. How cool to have a Pileated Woodpecker visit!