A Rascally Robin
One of my most favorite and anticipated signs of spring is the return of the red-breasted robins.
Robins are one of the first signs of spring, and a symbol of renewal and new beginnings after the winter. How welcome is their cheery song as they sing from the housetop.
Some facts about robins-
Robins are named after the European robin because of the similarities of their red breasts, but are not closely related.
Robins are members of the thrush family. They are very abundant in North America.
Robins are migratory song birds, spending their winters in the south (Florida and Mexico), and summers in the north. They arrive in the north in February and March, while there is still snow on the ground, and leave for their winter home by the end of August. Occasionally, a singular robin will over winter in the north.
Robins are very active during the day, and are one of the first birds to sing at dawn. They also sing before and after storms.
Robins are one of the earliest song birds to mate and lay eggs. They like open farmland, woodlands and urban areas, and are very comfortable living around people.
Robins eat earthworms, grubs, beetles, grasshoppers and caterpillars, with worms being their favorite. They hop through the grass searching for worms by sight and by sound. As soon as they spot a worm, they pounce and pull it up. A very familiar sight in the spring, and so fun to watch. They do not eat seeds, at least while they are in the north, so setting out a bird feeder will not draw them to your yard.
Robins can raise 2 or 3 clutches of eggs a summer, building their nests in the forks of tree branches, or open ledges. The eggs are the familiar ‘robins egg blue’. The newly hatched baby birds are voracious eaters and keep both the mother and father robins very busy all day long searching for and bringing back worms for hungry family.
Robins, being members of the thrush family, are very territorial and strong defenders of their breeding areas. And this brings us to the ‘rascally robin’ part.
Husband has a truck he is selling and had it parked in the yard so he could work on detailing it. This is what we would find every morning….
one side mirror, and….
the other side mirror.
The back window class is tinted and reflective, so this is what the bed of the truck looked like.
What a mess! This male robin could see himself in the mirrors and the glass, and spent hours attacking the ‘robin’ that he saw in the glass-himself. Any car that was parked in the yard suffered the same fate. Quite the mess to clean up and no more parking in the yard during the robin mating season!
By the way, this very nice truck cleaned up very nicely and is still for sale!
2001 Ford F150,
Laredo 4 wheel drive
53,000 miles
Looks and runs great if you are interested!
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Have you ever had a problem with a rascally robin?
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Psalm 19:1
The heaven declare the glory of God;
the firmament shewth his handy-work.
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