It is Labor Day (September 5) in central Indiana. It is warm (85 degrees) and perfectly sunny. There is a very nice spread of grass behind my house and my neighbors’, protected on all sides by the houses, the woods, and a hedge. Skittish wildlife likes to hang out on this little green–about four bunnies graze on it every evening, and there are tons and tons of birds that live in the woods and like to play in the unmowed grass.
But today, the robins are doing something very strange. They are fluffing out their feathers and spreading themselves out on the grass. Then they lie very, very still for a very, very long time. Eventually they snap out of it and dart back into the woods. But while they’re spread out on the grass, they are deathly still; in fact I took notice because I saw one of them out there and thought “cleanup on aisle 3.”
The robins don’t even move when the neighbor’s dachsund was let out for a run-around and actually sniffed one.
What on EARTH are they doing? I think that both males and females are doing it.