Robins In The Winter

 In February, when we have warm sunny days, I can already hear the squeaking call of the male Northern Cardinal. They nested in a spruce tree in our front yard, right against the window so I could watch the chick grow up, but then right as it was growing it's primary feathers, I found it bloody, with it's beak bitten off, lying on its back under the rain. It didn't last long. I think the murder was done by either a grey squirrel or a blue jay. 

So far, I have seen plenty of robins in our magnolia tree, filling their beaks with snow, and letting it melt in their warm bodies, to hydrate. They roost in that magnolia tree for most of the day, probably because a pair of robins nested there last year, imprinting the location in the heads of all chicks raised there, and the parents. The magnolia's branches are right up against the bathroom window, So it's cool to watch them hanging out close up in the canopy from the bathroom...

  

American Robins spend the winter on a diet of seeds, fruit, and nuts, and then as the ground thaws, they switch their diet to mainly earthworms, and other underground insects. This way they can get enough fat and carbs to survive the cold, and then get enough protein in the spring to lay eggs and feed the chicks. Many other songbirds do the same. I hope they nest on our property, so I can document the process.