~ ARE WE HAVING SPRING YET?
Lynn Thomas
Memories of Robins? I'm sure they were around in the wooded hills and farmlands of So. Calif. where I was born but I was too small to remember them then. I learned in school of Robin Redbreast and sang, "When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along, along, There'll be no more sobbin' when he comes throbbin' his own sweet song". I can't remember them in the deserts of Nevada either. Birds were scarce there unless around some waterhole. Blackbirds stopped on the lawns spring and fall, but no longer than necessary before continuing to more hospitable climates. In my 30's I became a somewhat avid birdwatcher, traveling to the refuges to find new species on their ranges and habitats in the appropriate seasons. Adding a new bird to my "life list" and learning its behavior was fun and interesting. Robin must have been one of the firsts on the list. Bird watching led to learning the flowers, plants and trees.
I became well acquainted with robin life when I came to the Wind Rivers to live at 9200' on the shores of Mud Lake for 6 or 7 months a year. By May when we could get in there the robins were arriving too. Their loud "Cheer-Cheer-Cheeree-oh" could be heard from the aspens and pines above the lake, along with woodpeckers knocking, flycatchers' whistles and grouse drumming. The robin song is part of the forest, which becomes much more silent without it in the fall. Going back to the forest in spring after not hearing that call for so many months, the first sound of the robin is puzzling. I need to think back a minute, to remember - it’s a robin! It's Spring!
Staying the winter in Wyoming is a test of endurance. For such a long time the only movement of life on the endless white is some ravens or crows, a small flock of finches which add a little color, maybe a coyote, eagle or deer. As the birds begin to appear again, friends where winter leaves first tell me they've seen a killdeer, some cranes, geese or ducks flying, bluebirds and meadowlarks. As they appear in our fields, I mark my first sightings on the calendar intending some day to see if each species shows up on the same date every year like the swallows at Capistrano. Their first forays are like a reconnaissance to see if their old familiar territories are habitable yet. Then they fall back for a while to where food is more abundant.
