American robin

A Flurry of Confusion

/ Rebecca / 23 Comments

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

Feasting on Sumac Berries

/ Rebecca / 14 Comments

In February we spotted an American robin foraging on the vibrant red berries of sumac shrubs which were growing in a colony along the roadside.  The fruit of the sumac lasts throughout the winter and provides sustenance to our feathered friends that spend the winter here.

… Growing at field edges and in waste
places, most of us don’t notice the ruby glow.
Bluebirds, robins, and squirrels
know better, plucking at the jeweled lights
to keep their own fires burning.
~David K. Leff

Then Came the Sandhill Cranes

/ Rebecca / 9 Comments

Late on a cold, crisp afternoon, I stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air and take in some of nature’s sights and sounds before nighttime fell on our little part of the world.

A small flock of cedar waxwings, with their high-pitched whistles, flitted about in the sky before temporarily settling in the top of one of our maple trees.

A group of grackles shared an adjoining maple tree, the males puffing out their feathers and bellowing out raspy squeaks in an attempt to outdo each other.

A robin peered down at me from its perch in the top of a neighbor’s tree.

Then I heard them — the faint and familiar sound of a bird that I have been looking forward to seeing since they returned to their wintering grounds at a nearby refuge.  Flying high above, they slowly came into sight — my first seasonal glimpse of the Sandhill Cranes.

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” ~Maya Angelou

American robins

/ Rebecca / 8 Comments

A small flock of robins showed up last week to harvest the berries from the holly bushes in my yard.  As the sun began to set, they gathered on the high branches of a nearby tree to soak in the last rays of the day.

“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.”  ~Tecumseh