Flock together.
You know the saying, and this is the time of year that many birds seek out the company of their buddies and form big flocks.
Crows, for example. Recently, I have seen more and more crows in medium size flocks of 20 or 30, soon to become hundreds and hundreds. They do this each fall as a means of protection.
If I were a hawk, I’d certainly have nothing to do with an army of 500 crows. I’d dine elsewhere. Sometime in late winter, the crows will go back to their family clans of 3 or 4 and raise a family with last year’s siblings helping out.
Starlings also form flocks. Huge flocks. I’ve always wondered what they eat when a thousand of them descend on a particular field. I know they like small grass seeds – I see them pecking at it in our yard when just a few stop by. But they certainly form large flocks.
Another bird that “flocks together” is the robin.
By the way, where are the robins? Two families raised in or near our yard this summer and there weren’t as many robin fights as usual. They seemed to get along okay, but I haven’t seen any for the last few weeks.
Though they are migratory songbirds, robins generally hang around in Central Virginia. Two winters ago, I had at least one robin that stayed in or near our yard throughout the winter.
Robins are notorious worm feeders, but earthworms often burrow out of range in summer – sometimes up to a foot and a half deep. The next best source of food for robins becomes bugs and such just beneath the leaves. Robins will scratch around like chickens to dislodge such juicy morsels.
Robins are members of the thrush family. They are widely distributed throughout North America, wintering from as far north as Southern Canada to Central Mexico and over to the Pacific.
Don’t know where they are now, but they will return, and when they do, they are most welcome to any worms or grubs they may find in my yard.