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
walking on a country road 
A delightful series!
Thanks, Donna!
LIke a motorcycle gang they zoomed into town and took it over!
Hell’s Robin’s or Robin’s from Hell. That’s how the locals would describe them I suspect!
🙂 🙂 They can be quite distracting when you’re out in the yard with all their noise and constant motion, but it does seem eerily quiet now that they are no longer there.
they’ll be back, now that they know your spot.
For sure. 🙂
They do tend to descend en masse this time of year. They must be beginning their northward migration already.
Even here in MA, this week I’ve seen a small flock strip my crabapples and holly bushes, as well as the native sumac. With the snow covering everything, they can’t forage through the leaves on the ground. I feel bad for the birds on what will probably be our coldest night of the year with a wicked windchill of -24F. Yikes! 🥶
Oh, my, crazy windchill! I know you’re looking forward to temperatures warming up. Our yard was covered in ice also at the time. I’m glad that they were able to find a good source of food on their journey.
I’ve never seen such a large flock of Robins before! They saw the berries from the air and hurried down to grab them. I can see why your resident birds would be angry and resentful of their food source being gone. I especially liked the video Rebecca – all that fluttering and even seeming to catch the berries in mid-air a few times.
They are quite entertaining. I was surprised at how many berries they can eat, one after the other. I think they must have my yard marked on their internal robin map as they tend to show up here each year about the same time.
They sure were busy converging on the berries. That’s amazing they know to return each year to your yard for those treats. That’s the second flock sighting you have seen recently – what will be next?
What wonderful photos and video you got of the robins. I am glad they survived the snow and had the berries to eat. Mockingbirds do seem to enjoy divebombing other birds and people. 🙂 The robins should have least left some for the resident birds.
Thanks, Mags. The mockingbird did a valiant job of defending his territory but will definitely have to look for a new source of food after the robins visited.
what a wonderful sight. I can’t wait until they show up in my neighborhood. Sure sign of spring.
That was my first thought when I saw them — spring isn’t far away. Some years they come with the cedar waxwings, but this year it was just the robins. The cedar waxwings are sadly out of luck when they arrive. The bushes have been picked clean.
That’s wild! Robins can be very territorial of berries they like. This year one has guarded my winterberry shrubs, even trying to chase off a pileated woodpecker (who was unimpressed). Last year a flock came through and hoovered them all up in a few hours.
It’s quite fun to watch. I looked today and didn’t see one red berry left on the bushes. They were very thorough.
Love the words and beautiful photos! Saw a small flock of robins last week. Love to watch them scurry around.
Thanks, Lane. They are quite entertaining. I look forward to their coming through each year.
How fascinating! Moments like this make everyday surroundings feel extraordinary. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Mary. Some Februarys they come with the Cedar Waxwings, but they were all by themselves this year.
Wow! That is a lot of robins! It must have been wonderful to see. If unnerving at times.
The neighborhood was quite chaotic, but entertaining, for a couple of days. It’s like having a big party, and then everyone goes home. 🙂