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Monday, February 21, 2011

The First Sign Of Spring

I've been wondering if I could still get pictures of animals. I got lucky on my first real opportunity. Not only did I get a few decent pictures of this American robin, I was able to get him in mid-flight. It was actually my last picture of him, but I think you'll agree that it's best to lead off with this one.

There is a huge myth that says robins are the harbingers of spring. Take that, groundhogs! Anyway, I proved last winter with all of my wintertime robins that the myth just isn't true at all. But this year the robins seem to be following the stories quite a bit better. They disappeared around here until the weather warmed up a bit.

And who know, maybe this robin knows something the rest of us don't. For the past few days we have had unusually warm weather for this time of year. And spring will definitely begin showing a few true signs of its coming in only a month from now. I think the truest sign of spring here in the US is the beginning of spring training for baseball, and that started Friday.

There is a group of trees that sits at the side of the nature park where I went this last time. The birds really like those trees for some reason. When I get to the parking lot, I know to scan those trees for birds right away. This robin was there waiting for me this time.

The trees aren't really very close to the parking lot, so at one time I would never have been able to get pictures like these. But these days it's just a matter of holding my hands steady while I aim the camera. I miss the thrill of the chase trying to get close to animals with my old camera, but I love the better results with my current one.

You may be able to tell by my recent number of posts that I'm feeling a little bit better. I admit that I am, but I'm still far from fine. It's still difficult for me to walk even on shorter trips without some pain and extra effort. Part of that is because I haven't had enough exercise and I'm out of practice. That will hopefully change.

I actually met one of you while out on my latest trip, and he noticed right away that I was having a bit of a rough time of it. I gotta say that it's a bit embarrassing to brag about myself as The Everyday Adventurer, and then to be discovered to be laboring and pouring down sweat in the middle of winter after having gone only a short distance. My real excuse is that it gets hot in my rat suit, even in the winter.

And finally, this last picture shows my friend the robin just as he was about to lift off into the heavens. I know robins better than any other bird. I think of them as comfortable companions when I'm out on my little adventures. They are almost always with me. And now I think of this one as a first sign of spring.

Since this robin visited me our huge piles of snow have melted to almost nothing. The sun is now shining almost every day. And there seems to be spring in the air all around. Is spring here already? No, not really. But it is getting very close. A new spring has begun the fight against old man winter, and it is winning.


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22 comments:

  1. The robin flapped so hard to drive the winter away.

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  2. Hi Ratty. It's great to see you're back out and about again. I am looking forward to more of your posts soon. These are lovely pictures of the robin. Spring is starting to show it's face over here too. My garden is all in bud and next door even has daffodils coming up.

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  3. Hi Ratty

    An interesting post! It's sooooo nice to have you back where you belong (in the nature park)! Anyways, I have a question for your investigative mind. Why is it that the birds like these particular trees so much in the winter. I can't tell exactly what kind of trees they are but I can see that they are branched oppositely and have large buds so they could be red maple, but I'm not sure.

    Are there plants nearby that the birds are foraging on? Is it good cover nearby that keeps them here? Let us know what you think!

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  4. I love these photos of the Robin. I have heard that some Robins stay around if there's enough food but I never see any. We've got lots of snow on the ground yet. Soon, I hope, it will melt away and stay gone and everything will come to life again.

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  5. Hooray for spring. You got some nice pictures. I wish I could see more signs of spring showing up here

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  6. Haha- and now we got slammed with winter again. But you got some great pics. That first one is especially nice.

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  7. I think it is a myth about the robin, as well as the groundhog..We just had another 2 feet of snow!

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  8. I think you are the one who is winning this winter of your recovery, Ratty!

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  9. @Rainfield -
    Yeah, the robin tried to drive winter away, but it came back a few days later. :)

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  10. @Bemused -
    I hope to be out more and more often but I'm still not quite able to do it every day. Spring is getting closer here too, but winter is fighting back still.

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  11. @Bill -
    I am still more or less a beginner where trees are concerned, so I'm not sure my opinion about it is worth much. There are some shrubs and trees right in this area that have a lot of berries and fruit that the birds like, so that is part of it. This area is also a small wetland. The birds really like all the trees in this area, but I think they probably consider those far trees to be safer from all the human traffic. I wish I knew what kind they were, but I still only know some basics. I will try to mention something about all of this in my next post though.

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  12. @Ginnymo -
    Last year our robins stayed around, but not this year for some reason. I think I'm ready for spring too, but I'm glad for all the snow. The snow leaves more water for the animals in spring, so that means more animals. :)

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  13. @Ann -
    There's still plenty of snow here, and even more since this post, but the blue skies are a definite sign of the coming spring.

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  14. @Sharkbytes -
    I figure this latest snowstorm was one of winter's last big efforts. It's going to fight til the bitter end, but spring is very close now.

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  15. @Icy BC -
    I think it's a myth too, but they're fun myths. I think our big snowfall won't last long. This was like a late winter hiccup. I bet we'll be seeing a true beginning of spring in about three weeks.

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  16. @Sparkle -
    Thanks. I'm hoping my recovery and the approach of spring go hand in hand.

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  17. Very nice pix of the American robin, Ratty.
    Glad to see you getting out there, and hope you are feeling steadily better!

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  18. @Ferd -
    Thanks, I'm not quite back all the way yet, but I've been feeling better for the past week and a half. I'm hoping it won't be long now.

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  19. What wonderful pictures. It's as though you are standing right beside that beautiful robin. The weather must really be getting better in your neck of the woods. Aside from some torrential rain this past week, San Francisco weather has been great ( though I heard there are going to be snow flurries tonight - something almost unheard of here ). I've gotten great photos - check out the header on my blog - of gorgeous trees in bloom around here.

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  20. It's amazing to see your Robins...they are dissimilar yet still very different to ours. The main difference I think though is that the sight of the Robin isn't a sign of spring for us as they are always more active to the eye during the winter in the UK.

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  21. @RNSANE -
    The camera did most of the work on this one. The weather was good for a few days, but winter has re-tightened it's cold grip. I'm looking forward to seeing your photos and new header, so I'll be sure to visit you first thing.

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  22. @Allotments4you -
    Our robins were named after yours because of their red breast, but I think your robins look more similar to our eastern bluebirds. I think our robins are probably my favorite bird because they are so friendly, but yours are a bit prettier.

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