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P.S. (and seriously) our birds have been ignoring the food for the last few weeks, except for a couple of pigeons that turn up every day or two and clean out the sunflower hearts (though we did have a very focused female bullfinch pecking away at them for about 20 minutes yesterday).

The oddest thing happened yesterday. There was a large flock of birds in a wild cherry tree next to my driveway, and I assumed they were those accursed starlings, but then realized they were robins- thirty or forty of them! We usually don't see them till spring, and I don't think I've ever seen more than four together; they're just not into gregariousness. Quite the vision.

Our robins are EXTREMELY territorial (no more than a pair and offspring in any garden) - however I think your "robins" might be thrushes?

These lovely creatures have the unfortunate name Turdus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Robin

It says they assemble in large flocks at night but I have never seen this, and this was in broad daylight.

Ours is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Robin
- closelyrelated to thrushes, but not a thrush.

I've seen yours in Minneapolis - they behave exactly like our blackbirds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Blackbird

Just solved Rosalind's JE 26d.
It gave me a nice warm feeling!

rossim: Your 2d gave me a nice warm feeling too.

I hope it lifted your mood!

Love those British euphemisms.