American Robin

This morning I got up early, as the sun was out, & it isn't supposed to be out for very long--thunderstorms predicted for later in the day--so I headed to the park, & in the 5 minutes it took me to drive there, the sun was gone! I took some pictures of the fishermen wading in the water (& there were lots of them--how on earth they expect to catch fish when they're all walking around in shallow water is beyond me!), & then I heard this robin singing. When I spotted her, she was sitting fairly low in a tree, so I walked over, expecting her to take off any minute! I've tried to photograph the robins before, but I think it's really hard, as #1--they're frequently on the ground & they move constantly, so it's hard to get them in focus, & #2--they're very alert, & they generally take off if you get anywhere in the vicinity of where they're at! But she was singing her heart out, & was getting an answering call from a little way off, so she must have been courting! I know it's a female, as they have a lighter shade of orange on their breasts (the males' orange is a much more brilliant color) & the females have white on their breasts which the males don't. The American robins spend a lot of the time on the ground, where you'll see them tugging worms out of the dirt for a favorite meal. While they are the state bird of Wisconsin, they're common all across North America, & are popular for their warm orange breast & their lilting, cheery song! They make an early appearance at the end of winter, so we're always excited when we see the first robin of the year, as it means that spring is just around the corner!