I’ve heard from more than one of you wondering if that wild and crazy bird, Robby, has returned.

Robby - right where he belongs

This is a picture of Robby (taken through my living room window), in his natural habitat.  It’s where Robby belongs.  Sit, Robby.  Stay, Robby.  Better yet, go away, Robby!

Instead, as I write this, he is busily torturing my windows and making a mess on my deck furniture. 

Video of Robby in dastardly action

(Give it a minute or so to download, then click on the arrow to get it to play.)

This is his 4th year of visiting us, although this year he returned earlier than he ever has!  We first started seeing him in December.  I’m not sure he ever left.

His modus operandi seems to be to spend his days at my house through spring – I guess until he finds a mate.  During summer he doesn’t seem quite so interested in “fouling/fowling” my abode.  I guess then he’s busy helping raise his own brood.  We still see him around, though, and know it’s him because he has virtually no fear of us and just hops around us as we go about our business.

Robby is smart enough, thank goodness, to evade the dogs.  Lucky, in particular, wants to do away with him.  As soon as Robby shows up each morning to start bashing into the windows, Lucky heads for the doggy door.  He never catches him, but he is also never going to give up.  I don’t discourage Lucky’s behavior because it gives me a few moments of peace and quiet.  Unfortunately Robby is smarter than both me and Lucky.  When he sees Lucky coming, he has taken to attacking a second story window, where he is safe from the dogs.  Sigh.

I’ve lived in fear that Robby will pass his annoying habits on to his offspring, but so far so good.  No littIe Robbies have shown up alongside their father to practice his skullduggery. 

His favorite chair to poop upon

I don’t know how long wild (semi-wild?) robins live, but as annoying as this bird is, I will have mixed emotions when Robby is no longer a part of our landscape.