Robin   January 2013 photo by Jonathan Schechter

Robins are looked at by many as a sign of spring and television newscasters often become
 nearly breathless with excitement when reporting  "They are  back!"
 Fact of the matter is clear; many robins spend the winter in Michigan and feast

 on abundant dried berries and seek shelter in thickets. But when suburban lawns thaw, usually

 in late March or early April, we see them more often as they resume their love for 

worm-slurping. The eastern bluebird is another false prophet of spring. Although many do 

fly further south, just as many hunker down for the winter in shrubby areas and thickets and

 even visit bird feeders as my photos below show from the first week of January.

Eastern bluebirds in my yard, January 6, 2013