'First signs of spring are legendary, particularly in places blanketed in snow for much of winter. Where I grew up, near Washington, DC, we eagerly awaited the American robins' arrival. They usually appeared in March, whistling a hearty tune: "Cheer up, cheer up, cheerily, cheer up!" The sight of Mama Robin bearing twigs for a secret nest was enough to carry us through the last weeks of winter and into spring.Maybe it was my family's aversion to the cold, or our crazed school-year schedule that prevented us from realizing that robins don't migrate. In fact, most robins, as well as many other native birds, butterflies and bees retreat to nearby wooded areas in colder months. Like their human neighbors, they seek protection in the places they know best and they are most adapted to: their own back yards.
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