This last week, a flock of over a hundred American Robins unexpectedly descended upon our neighborhood, bringing with them noise and chaos. They appeared ravenously hungry, favoring the bright red berries on the holly bushes.

Besides eating berries, the robins foraged through the farm fields and along the roadsides for scattered grains and seeds, while also drinking from and bathing in puddles created by melting snow.

Once they had satisfied their appetite, they congregated on adjacent branches to roost for the night.

They lingered for a couple of days, systematically stripping the berries from the bushes and gathering those that had fallen to the ground.

Our resident Mockingbird, quite displeased with the invasion of his turf, occasionally dived-bombed the bushes, vocally expressing his dissatisfaction with the circumstances. The native cardinals faded into the background and were often nowhere to be found.

Eventually, apart from a handful of stragglers remaining as part of the clean-up crew, the flock departed as swiftly as it had arrived.

Silence and tranquility prevailed once more.

“Four things to learn in life: To think clearly without hurry or confusion; To love everybody sincerely; To act in everything with the highest motives; To trust God unhesitatingly.” ~Helen Keler