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Friday, January 11, 2013

ROBINS & BLUEBIRDS: False prophets of spring!

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

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4 comments:

  1. SladeJanuary 12, 2013 at 3:14 PM

    Glad to see you are back . . its been awhile since a blog post. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jonathan SchechterJanuary 12, 2013 at 5:01 PM

    Thanks Slade ! Had some tech issues with the blog, but should be posting now two or three times a week. Twitter feed is also up and running, however the Oakland Press now has my Sunday Oakland Outdoors hiking/nature column only in the print edition. It no longer appears on their web site or Facebook. Jonathan

    ReplyDelete
  3. SladeJanuary 13, 2013 at 12:57 PM

    Ooohhh . . . .I wondered why I couldn't find the column. Is there a reason? Can I contact the editors? I am out of the "Oakland County" district, so I usually follow the Oakland Press on-line or with my iphone App. I enjoy your column because very few papers have running articles related to the Outdoors (especially hiking)!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jonathan SchechterJanuary 13, 2013 at 1:21 PM

    Slade, The newspaper stopped running my column about three weeks ago on their website in the hopes to pull more readers into purchasing the Sunday print newspaper instead of reading on-line for 'free'. Yes, you may write to the editor (Glenn Gilbert-- I think you will find his e mail address on the website) to express your opinion' but I understand their motivations and have received letters from others with the same concern. Glad you enjoy(ed) the columns. Jonathan

    ReplyDelete