Robins in the snow

During this seemingly endless winter, robins, those time-honored harbingers of spring, have put in appearances from time to time. But during the past week or so, these red-breasted standouts have, despite the snow cover, the cold, and the utter lack of spring-ness, camped out continually as if they mean to stay. Robins are now a fixture in the holly trees, and when I walk through the woods, there are robins busy turning over any exposed leaves in hopes of finding worms too stunned by the chill to withdraw to safety. The striking birds even scurry over the snowpack, although here, I doubt they're in search of those fabled ice worms that appear in the poetry of Arctic chronicler Robert Service. I'm guessing the robins are simply using the hard-packed snow as an easy way to get from Point A to Point B. This one stopped long enough for me to get a portrait, then it was off to find frozen food.