When I moved from the U.K. to Crete in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the few things I missed was the garden robin. There had always been a robin following me around the garden, keeping me company and entertaining me with that beautiful, soft, warbling, song. Even at work there was a robin who came to greet me everyday. He knew that I had a bag of dried apricots in my pocket. He became very tame. In the springtime, he would not eat his apricot, but would sit on my shoulder whilst I bit off three or four small pieces for him. Then he would carefully line them up in his beak and carry them back to his nest for his babies. I knew that there were robins on Crete, but I had never seen one. Until now. This one must live nearby as he turns up every day. I enjoy his company as I work, but keep an eye out for the local cats. The European robin is a lot smaller than the American robin. That is a great photo harryshoe, .Here is my new friend. Daisy

Veilchen: I finally bought a field guide to birds, primarily so I could try to identify all (or at least some) of those little brown birds that flood the feeder and the ground under it. I looked up robins (in the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds - Eastern Region) - it says: "Although considered a harbinger of spring, robins often winter in the northern states, where they frequent cedar bogs and swamps and are not usually noticed by a casual observer, except when they gather in large roosts, often containing thousands of birds." It would make sense in my area which is cedar country with a pond/abandoned cranberry bog and stream nearby. Lots of wild winterberries near the pond and along the stream. I can visualize the robins moving to the bogs when the worms in the lawn head farther underground for the winter. The birds could chow down on the cedar berries and winterberry fruits. Or they could come down from Canada too. Whatever. The thought of a roost of thousands of robins is a little scary, though. Claire

We have robins pop up here throughout the winter as well. Just the other day there must have been 100 robins in my small yard pecking around my composters and on a clear (not snow-covered) stretch of soil under my holly. I posted a picture on my blog, but it was tough to get a good picture from inside. It was an amazing site seeing them all in one place. The same thing happened last year as well. I placed out extra plastic plant saucers for them to use as birdbaths. I had to keep changing the water to keep it clean. It seemed as though they really needed a good clean drink of water and a bath. Even though I have feeders out, they seem to like looking for worms in the bare gardens and around the composter the most. Here is a link that might be useful: Robins in Kim's Garden

I think I want to have a little chat with that groundhog- early spring indeed! ha! I participated in the great backyard bird count again this year. At the website you can print out a sheet that lists all the birds found in this area of New York. The GBBC always seems to do its count on the coldest days of the year. I only find one or two birds then because it is so cold, but I'll continue marking off the birds I find for the rest of the year just to see how many I can get. No robins yet, but I did get my eagle. They are common around the lake and easier to see in the winter. Here is a link that might be useful: my webpage