Little Robin Redbreast

Little Robin Redbreast
Sat upon a rail,
Niddle nobble went his head,
Wiggle waggle went his tail.

As a child, did you learn some form of this rhyme about Robins?
They were probably my favorite bird when I was young. But that is no longer true. I am often annoyed by their way-to-early wake up tuk, tuk tuk, It sounds like they are right outside the bedroom window. Oh, wait, that is because they are. Then they go into a rapid cheerily cheer up, cheer up, cheerily cheer up! They might as well be saying, get up, get up, get up! Because I do; no way am I going back to sleep.

There are a lot of Robins around here. I should be getting used to them. Yesterday I heard one loudly giving their danger call - yeep, yeep, yeep, yeep! I knew what that meant - the neighbor's darned gray cat was sneaking around. I went out and there he was on our stepping stones. I may not be fond of the noisy Robins but I sure don't want them to be victims of a preying cat.

Favorite poet Ted Kooser has different take on these early morning birds. It is very timely considering how cold, dark and rainy this day began:

The Early Bird

Still dark, and raining hard
on a cold May morning

and yet the early bird
is out there chirping,

chirping its sweet-sour
wooden-pulley notes,

pleased, it would seem, 
to be given work,

hauling the heavy
bucket of dawn

up from the darkness,
note over note,

and letting us drink.

If only I could keep Kooser's poem in mind, perhaps I wouldn't so much mind the Robins' early wake up notes.