After a long period of “water, water everywhere,” the rain gauge had an inch in it, and the ground is once again like an unsqueezed sponge. But the sun has emerged, my spirits are raised, and the garden and woods are full of singing birds…tufted titmice, wrens, chickadees, purple finches, bluebirds, and mockingbirds. I caught a quick glimpse of a red bellied woodpecker flying away from the suet feeder. A downy took its place. I hope the red bellied will take up residence in my woods. I refilled the bird feeder with sunflower seeds.
They say that the harbingers of spring are robins. Today at lunchtime, with the sun shining down, I spied three robins in the garden. I ran to get the camera, but they flew off when I approached. Later I was able to grab a quick shot with my iPhone through a bedroom window. I apologize for the lack of crispness in the photo, but the arrival of the first robins in my garden is an occasion to be recorded.
There’s just something special about a blue sky and robins in the garden in January.
A Walk in the Garden 
I had to look twice, but have now learnt that your robins are not the same as the European robin! Both are lovely though, with their splash of red colouring.
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Thanks, Cathy. I really am a bit surprised to see them here this early.
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When the spring arrives for you, it should be only a few weeks before we have it as well. Still watching for robins here!
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Thanks, Jason. Of course, they robins are just tempting me to get excited. I know we have more bad weather to come. Robins are not groundhogs.
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Now that’s a promising sight!
Sure is better than the 8 inches of snow which showed up in my garden this morning
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We know there is sunshine at the end, and we will all be happy again. Be careful in the snow…no slipping and sliding.
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Our robins stay in the garden all year round, they are lined up with the blackbirds waiting for me every morning, to hurry up with their breakfast ! Do yours migrate?
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Thanks, Pauline. In most years they do migrate, but I have seen years here in North Carolina that were very mild and the robins seemed to hang around.
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Last winter we had robins the entire season. This year they must have smartened up and went south. It really is nice you have a spring visitor.
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Some years we do, some we don’t. We must be on a boundary of some sort with the weather determining whither goeth the robins.
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Glad you have them this year. I am off to Hawaii now and really hope to see birds not local to us. I will report if I see robins there!
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I used to look forward to the first robin sighting! Here in coastal Georgia, I am learning a whole new calendar year for birds’ comings and goings. One thing we have now is a Great Horned Owl sitting on two eggs! The SKidaway Audubon has a web cam – you can find through Cornell also. That is a wonderful sight! Baby owls should appear in a week!
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Thanks, Jayne, and hope you are enjoying your new environs. I looked at the webcam of the owl. Please let me know when to look again…for the newly hatched.
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Your birds all sound very exotic. But here too the birds have started singing and they obviously feel Spring is on the way, even though it is still cold. Our European robins are with us all year round and they get very tame. Mine appears as soon as I go outside and follows me round the garden.
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Thanks, Chloris. The birds I mentioned are the most common ones for our area. I assure that I have not been able to tame any of them. They are quite shy around us.
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