American Robin — Spring is Coming!

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It’s the dead of winter by southern Arizona standards. For the past week or so, nighttime temperatures have been close to or even dipped below freezing, and daytimes, albeit sunny, remain chilly enough so that one welcomes an extra layer of clothing.

But spring is rapidly approaching and that’s made evident by the fact that some species are already changing their behavior. I’ve seen Red-tailed Hawks pairing up and beginning courtship. In darkness I’ve heard male and female Great Horned Owls calling back and forth (“duetting”), a sure sign that their breeding season has begun.

I saw another certain sign of spring just two mornings ago. I was in one of Tucson’s public parks when I saw a substantial flock of American Robins — dozens of birds.

Mostly, I’ve seen Robins in southern Arizona at higher elevations — the slopes of Mt. Lemmon, for example. I’ve almost never seen them at lower elevations and yet, here they were at the level of our desert in substantial numbers.

I’m certain that the Robins that I saw were a migrating flock. Very likely, they were passing through our area on the way north when they saw the park, with its grassy lawns and water, and decided that they’d found an ideal rest stop. The presence of these birds in numbers clearly says that spring is coming!

Image made with a Canon R5, Canon EF 400mm f4 DO II lens+Canon EF 1.4x telextender, M setting (auto ISO), ISO 400, f5.6 @ 1/2000.