A Species to Draw To

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

One of my delights is seeing a bird land nearby on my horse’s trough. Among the birds that most interest me are Robins, bold and confident creatures who keep an eye on me but usually don’t fly away before dipping and drinking. This fellow perched on a chunk of wood floating in the trough and for awhile bobbed to capture water and with each sip lifted its head skyward so gravity could do its job.

Robins are such common year-around birds it seems odd to find them so enjoyable. You’d think that by now I’d ignore these birds, but not so. To me, Robins are the “Border Collies of birds”. On the ground they hop rapidly, with purpose and acute hearing, pausing frequently to listen for underground movements. Suddenly a ground hopper scurries a short distance and hits a target. Yes, they’re common birds, but here at my Central Oregon location many Robins that migrated do return to winter. Now they’re arriving again.

As much as we’ve all watched Robins, they are very beautiful birds and as distinctive to the eye, as say Magpies. That Robins immediately are spottable makes them more fun. The influx begins now and by spring I’ll be a witness to these birds drunkenly stuffing themselves on juniper berries.

Dear Friends: Our friends the birds are lessening in numbers, so sad. Diana