Robins of Autumn

[1ADAM12]

I live hre in northern PA right on the NY border. For the last week now I have seen many robins. I never remember seeing them this late in the year. Why are they still here? or Are they just migrating south and using my backyard as a resting place

I thought they would be way gone by now as we had snow just a few days ago!

Adam

 

[Chip]

It has to do with the 37-Degree Isotherm, Vertical Earthworm Migration and Alternative Food Source Abundance, but you knew that intuitively right ?

This is a very interesting site on the subject.

 

[1ADAM12]

Thanks Chip a lot of interesting facts about the american Robin

 

[Grumpy]

The information is sort of buried, and never made really clear on the web page linked above, but here it is: Not all robins migrate from northern climes southward for winter, and vice-versa. Some will stay in the north all year.

G.

 

[Puck]

Yes robins do migrate. I live in CT the roins we get here in the winter ARE south for the winter. They cluck with a french accent.
The National Audubon society has conducted a bird census across the continent from the last two weeks of Dec to the first week of Jan. Its called the Christmas Bird Count and has been going on for 107 years.
For fun go here http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/index.html
you can do a search for robins in specific locations and see the prevelance through the winter.

BTW save the date....thier will be an Audubon Christmas Bird Count in Crawford Notch Dec 16. http://www.outdoors.org/about/calendar/index.cfm?CalMonth=12&CalYear=2006&CalDay=1&action=month# click on the the 16th on the calender. Last year we had to use snow shoes and took in three 4K peaks...

 

[1ADAM12]

The information is sort of buried, and never made really clear on the web page linked above, but here it is: Not all robins migrate from northern climes southward for winter, and vice-versa. Some will stay in the north all year.

G.

I can honestly say that this is a first for me. I have never seen them this late in the year.

IF they do stick around in the winter in some regions what is their diet? IT sure is not worms

 

[Grumpy]

According to information I can find, from a variety of sources, robins that winter in the north are most inclined to hang out in cedar swamps and bogs. (From personal experience, I think other lowland thickets might do, also.)

The robin evidently is omnivorous, eating mostly fruit along with “lesser quantities” of insects and worms (according to this web source.)

Perhaps that will answer the robin’s winter diet question.

G.

 

[Jim lombard]

I saw a flock of 6-7 robins in the White Mts yesterday, lots of Mountain Ash berries right now.

 

[Rob S]

Hey Adam, I hadn't noticed this thread until now, but ya know, it's kinda funny cuz I've seen a quite a few of them robins too lately ...... and I don't recall seeing them this late before ......... or could it be I just hadn't noticed before???? Was just yesterday afternoon ....... both my neighbor and I in our yards ........ both cleaning up branches from the windstorm over the weekend ......... and he walks towards this holly bush that's a straddling our yards ......... and out flies 5, maybe 6 robins ............ which is also kinda strange come to think of it beings as the smaller swallow-type birds and such are normally the ones nesting in them ........ but anyway I says to him that them robins are lost! They been sleepin' and forgot to catch the train south. And then now I find this thread and it's like deja vu. Can't help but wonder if it means anything ......... probably not tho ........ cuz Grumpy's a pretty smart guy, ......... and if he says some robins don't migrate ....... well then I'd believe that. Just funny how we both thought it odd to see 'em so late this year ......... Go figure.

 

[Dugan]

Seems like this comes up every fall and spring. Parts of New England are in the year round range for the American Robin. They do tend to shift from lawns to forest during the winter so we don't see as many or as often. However, in most of the northeast, they are present year round.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Robin_dtl.html

 

[Stan]

We've had robins that seem to have wintered but that may be an illusion due to really late departures and early arrivals. If there is a suitable food supply then they're more likely to hang around against instincts programmed in their DNA eons ago.

We concluded that, like people, the animal kingdom including birds consists of different personalities. We've seen ground feeders quite at home on bird feeders (cardinals), insect eaters enjoying birdseed (nuthatches and woodpeckers, which we often see violating their standard down-the-tree or up-the-tree creeping) and squirrels with various standards of personal grooming.

The bird personality that we resent, however, is the constant griper that complains when the birdfeeder is empty or they've eaten all the ripe blueberries and expect me to replace them. That really ruffles my feathers.

 

[Puck]

The American Robin like the other thrushes in our area have a greater variety in thier diet than waht seems to be accepted. In the spring they, like all birds, have a greater demand for protien due to breeding and nesting. After the young fledges and the season moves on the diet shifts to include berries and seeds.

The birds that winter over in New England are the most omnivourus. The ones that leave are more relient on one primary source of food. The Yellow rumped warbler is seen frequently in Southern New England because unlike it cousins it can shift to other food sources.

Also, we need to understand that most birds are alot smarter then we realize. They can adapt and change thier behavior and are capable of teaching. So it is not all DNA based hard wiring. However, we have all been fooled by a white breasted nuthatch acting like a brown creeper, a junko feeding from a perch feeder and a tree sparrow actually siting in a tree.

 

[sapblatt]

Living close to Boston I have found Robins to be very close to a year round resident - generally see them any time the ground is not covered. I have seen them almost every year in February, and they are still around now.

 

[1ADAM12]

I saw 2 more Robins this morning