robins!

What's that sound? I was ready to head out to walk when I heard the sound of heavy rain hitting the windows and the ground. I've been enjoying daylight walks lately but tonight it felt like waiting a while would be a good idea.

An hour later light rain was falling and fog had descended. I grabbed my blinking lights (to be seen) and headed out. Given the conditions I did loops through quiet neighborhood streets. While the streets are back to bare pavement, the lawns are still covered with a blanket of white although there are strips along the edge where the ground is peeking out. It was on the bare ground where I saw a group of robins, hopping, then flying off.

Robins always make me believe that spring is on the way. I see them occasionally in the winter - and according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds they spend the winter here too.

Although robins are considered harbingers of spring, many American Robins spend the whole winter in their breeding range. But because they spend more time roosting in trees and less time in your yard, you're much less likely to see them. The number of robins present in the northern parts of the range varies each year with the local conditions.

Seeing robins this evening made me smile.