February 13: Robins

A friend birding up in the Machias area today reported seeing hundreds of Newfoundland robins--those bigger, darker Canadian robins that visit the Maine coast each winter for their version of the French Riviera. We had a mini wave of these northern birds at the office this morning. I counted up to 12 robins scratching around under an apple tree outside my window. Not having many other birds to distract me, I got out the binoculars to admire these visiting thrushes. Fluffed up in the cold, they looked especially large, and the white markings around their eyes were as especially visible. These looked like robins with a mission, moving from apple tree to berry bush to crabapple, gleaning the late-lingering, shriveled up, frozen fruits of last summer.

Robins, not much else.
The eye is drawn to what moves
in this cold landscape.