I saw two swallows today

[Mountaineer370]

That's interesting about what Robins like to eat. I see lots of them around our yard, but they always seem to be looking for worms. We don't have any fruit or berry trees, so I guess they have to make do. Carol, that's a great story about the Robin waiting for you to throw worms to him/her.

[Dollythehun]

We named him Alfred as he seemed rather rotund.

[Leafmite]

The year we had a pair of Baltimore Orioles (something I have not seen in my yard since), they nested in the cherry tree and the male chased away all the Robins from three of the cherry trees and the nearby blueberry bushes. It was a good year for cherries.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Leafmite I will only dream of having those kinds of trees. I have to be very careful of what I plant. We have heavy clay soil alkaline. I always tell people there's a reason trees don't grow here.

I do have a couple of apple trees but there not doing that well.

[Leafmite]

Our ground is all clay, too. That is actually perfect for fruit trees. I would not recommend planting the fruit trees, though, as they need a great deal of work and the sprays expose one to certain health risks. We actually have been cutting down fruit trees every year, just getting rid of the two apples and plum this spring. We now just have the two cherries and peach which, thankfully, don't need much pruning (though the peach tree is a diva otherwise). If you would like to grow fruit, there is much that has been developed to grow in pots...Top Hat blueberry, certain types of grapes and raspberries, strawberries, etc. I recommend the berries as they don't need to be sprayed with insecticides and fungicides.

My youngest daughter, home for spring break, says she will miss the apple blossoms this spring. I must agree. They always smelled so wonderful.

We had pairs of blue jays and cardinals in our yard this morning, along with many other types of birds. We have a good supply of nesting material. When the Artemisia absinthium leafs out, the birds will return to rip off leaves to line their nests (it is a pretty good insecticide but I wonder how the birds know this?).

[No-Pro-mwa]

My poor Robins are wondering what went wrong. We have snow once again.

[rbarata]

I love to see Robins drinking water in lakes or rivers. They make low passes over the water while put their beak in the water.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Ok now I know it truly is spring because yesterday I saw a Meadowlark.

[Dollythehun]

Wow! The neighbor has wood ducks...We have crows.

[Mountaineer370]

Originally Posted by rbarata

I know spring has started when I see three signs:

- Swallows (robins?) arrive

Originally Posted by rbarata

I love to see Robins drinking water in lakes or rivers. They make low passes over the water while put their beak in the water.

rbarata, just for clarification, what we call robins are a different bird than your swallows. This is an American Robin:

American Robin | Audubon Field Guide

We have different type of swallows here, too. This is the barn swallow. Note the coloration is somewhat similar to robins, but the swallow is a smaller, sleeker bird with a forked tail. These birds do a lot of swooping as they fly, as you describe in seeing them drinking water.

Barn Swallow | Audubon Guide to North American Birds

I've seen some robins here this spring that are so fat it's a wonder they can fly! I'd love to see some swallows around here. We used to have them when we had horses and would leave our barn doors open most of the time. They loved to nest in the rafters.

Mostly what I'm seeing lately are cardinals. Cardinals everywhere! I love them. Such pretty red birds.