When I looked out first thing this morning, there was a robin peering at the empty bird feeder tray and then at the house, as if to say:
‘Where are my mealworms, stupid humans?’
OH said it looked as if he was preparing to headbutt the window, so after a restorative cup of tea, I put on the clogs which I keep in the conservatory for quick trips into the garden and filled the tray with suet sticks, seed, peanuts and the required mealworms, and as I trod back indoors I noticed something strange. Clearly printed on the doorstep was the little pictogram above – untouched by Photoshop, by the way, except to brighten it a little.
Looks just like the robin, doesn’t it? You can make out the shape of the red markings on his breast, and the wing and tail too … and the jaunty angle of those long legs is very robin-like so I’m pretty sure it’s a self-portrait*. It’s pretty damned good for a bird, too, although the head could have done with a bit more effort.
It amused me enough to run and get my camera, but then I began to wonder if I really wanted a super smart robin in the garden. I mean, they’re vicious little buggers at the best of times, so what happens if I run out of mealworms? Am I going to get attacked by a stone-throwing robin next time I go out to the freezer?
One can only hope that burgeoning intelligence will bring restraint, but by the example we have in the human race it seems unlikely. Maybe I should stop feeding him those rich-in-fatty-acid brainfood mealworms and put him on bread and water before it’s too late.
*Actually, it looks as if he and Sid have collaborated on that one, because it’s a Sid footprint, plus bird feet.
Tis a miracle and you shouldn’t have posted the photo – now you’ll have hundreds of pilgrims flocking (ha !) to your garden to see this ornithological version of The Turin Shroud….
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What do you call a man with no arms and no legs swimming laps?
Clever Dick ;o)
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hilarious I love the coach below to
You guessed dust mite – so did I
It is a 6 day old fetus..
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Hm, I nearly held my laptop upside down to see it and still didn’t. And then, all of a sudden, as I was scrolling back up: there it was: a robin!
Creepy…
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Hey…I resent the thought that Robin’s are vicious little buggers;)
We just had our birdfeed take a nosedive off the hanging cable and the protective dome of it shattered in to bits (very cold here). We have another dome and so dh is going to repair it this weekend. Meanwhile the large turkey population in our neighborhood have left us for seedier pastures…except for one that turned up today. Poor girl, she misses her old stomping grounds. She walked up to the deck door window (which overlooks the birdfeeder and the little pond next to it) pecks around a bit then just stands there, staring in the deck door at me. It was -11 degree F, at the time (about 2 hours ago), and she stood there staring at me for so long I began wondering if she’d frozen to the spot.
I stood up and approached the window finally and she jerked her head all around as if giving me a good talking to for leaving her go hungry over the last few days.
So….first thing today, dh is on to repairing the birdfeeder.
Indeed that was a great self-portrait by a very sweet and intelligent Robin!
Have a great weekend, Jay!
I just got back from taking some shopping over to my elderly uncle – while I was there he asked me to go out and put some food down for the birds – well it was like a scene out of Mary Poppins when I got out there – they came from nowhere and nearly tore the bag of seed from my hands.
Didn’t notice any self portraits being left though – in fact nothing was left!!!!!
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LOL and eerie!
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Amazing! Sid and the Dicky should collaborate more often.
We used to have a cardinal who continually banged into the French doors in our dining room. We would watch him perch on the patio table outside, stare straight at the doors, then…BAM!…right into them. He would do this for absolutely hours on end. One day, I opened the door he always flew into…he just bammed into the other one!
Danged hard headed men.
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It’s now confirmed, Jay, I need new glasses! I see the pictogram which is clear and beautiful! But the robin? Where is it? Under the snow? Help!
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Oh my goodness, that photo makes the hair stand up at the back of my neck – eeek! It puts me in mind of Hitchcock’s “The Birds” (cue spooky music).
I’ve gone from feeling all soft and sentimental about the snow to approaching cabin fever now – I’ve been snowed in for over a week. Not the island, just me. My drive is too long and uphill to move the car. Can you believe no store on the island stocks so much as a snow shovel? Sad, nuts, but true.
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Haha agro robins. Just doesn’t work for me. Then I’m used to sulphur crested cockatoos fighting over the seed tray . . .Great little picture though. @ DBM, I thought his name was “Bob”
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Baino – Bob is the name of a man with no arms and no legs just floating in a swimming pool.
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We’ve no robins here in winter, it’s too beastly cold. But we feed the birds: the juncos and sparrows and cardinals still come round.
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Silverback – They haven’t arrived yet, dammit. I was hoping to charge them admission!!
DBM – Hahahaha!! That’s actually quite funny. LOL!
Sandy – Wow, really? Looks just like a dust mite! That’s amazing!
Mara – I thought about drawing in the outline but I wanted to leave it ‘au naturel’. I’m glad you spotted it in the end!
Sistertex – Not you, silly! LOL!
They’re seriously aggressive, our robins. They’ll chase any other bird off the feeder – or even out of the area – it’s not just other robins. I’ve watched many times as a single robin keeps the ground clear of all comers, flying at them, stabbing at them, screaming at them … they don’t have time to eat themselves, but apparently the fight is more important than sharing.
Funny about your turkey. The one up the road keeps escaping and one time she wandered over to a (closed) car repair shop and did the same thing: just stood and stared in at the big plate glass door, bobbing her head about. I think they see the ‘other turkey’ inside and wonder how it got there!
Kate – How funny! I’ve seen it happen, in a bad winter. The food is gone almost before you’re back indoors. Poor things, it must be a struggle to survive sometimes, and they do get used to having a food supply available.
Carolina – It is, isn’t it? Made me laugh, too!
EthelMaePotter – Oh, that’s funny! Do they fight with each other normally? Maybe he thought there was another cardinal coming at him?
The robins are the ones who fly into our conservatory and can’t find their way out again. Something about birds with red feathers, evidently.
Petra – The robin isn’t in the picture! Hahaha! Fooled ya!
Shrinky – No-one even stocks a snow shovel?? Really? Wow …
Sorry you’re snowed in. It does get tiresome quite quickly, doesn’t it? We lived on a ridge once, and on a minor road too, so I understand about getting snowed in! We had to walk downhill (and then uphill back home of course) to the nearest village to get milk and bread, sliding around all the way. No chance of getting the car out. The snowplough got stuck near us, once!
Hope your snow clears soon!
Baino – Well, of course, they probably can’t compete with sulphur crested cockatoos! Perhaps one of the few birds our robins would run from! LOL!
Kala – Our robins stay all year, and they can get very tame, which is why they’ve become a symbol of Christmas. It’s quite easy to get them to come to your hand for food. They’re bold little guys!
Your cardinals are gorgeous birds! Never see anything like that here.
So do you think Sid and his robin friend are sneaking around in the middle of the night, creating pictograms? THAT I would love to see!
JD at I Do Things´s last blog ..I Hit the Panic Button so you don’t have to
Looks just like the robin, doesn’t it?
Yes! It really does!
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JD – Nah. I think that Sid trod on the step and the robin got the idea of making it into a self-portrait all by itself. Of course he could have asked permission, but I don’t really think so.
Meleah – Told ya! LOL! Actually I was worried that no-one else would be able to see it, so thanks for that!
This photo scared me at first because I thought it was a snow-covered dead bird body. I should have known that if it was on your blog, it would be something much more humorous and clever.
Thanks for your comments lately. I appreciated the support.
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Ruth – Oh no! I’m sorry to scare you – no, not a dead bird at all! The robin is alive and well and still fighting off all comers!
I’m glad if a few words of mine can help you in any way. I never know what to say until I start typing. I guess that’s the way it is sometimes.
I’m amazed he made that impression without still being there if you know what I mean. I love it! Never have seen that, only feet marks around here.
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Get Sid pianting on paper and you can sell his art work for thousands!
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Jay, here the robins leave in the winter and their reappearance is a sign of Spring’s arrival. I can’t recall seeing a single robin at our birdfeeder, though they do pick about the lawn for worms and other goodies. Interesting to me that they are aggressive in regard to the birdfeeder and the yard as I have never noticed them chasing other birds away….I will have to pay a bit better attention come spring and watch their habits. Usually I am just glad to see them because it means warmer weather is on the way.
I love the robins – good to know you have such a clever, artistic one in your garden (helped by Sid, of course).