Robins are Coming – Or Did They Never Leave?
Thank you to Mulletar for this super photo of an American Robin in Winter
The American Robin is a migratory bird. After all, we’ve named it Turdus migratorius. Or is it?
Birds gather in flocks in the fall and fly to Texas or the Gulf states, often as far as Bermuda or Guatamala. They go to find adequate nourishment. Check any field guide and it will show you winter range and summer range.
Yet New Englanders like me, Wisconsin-ites, cold-hearty Canadians and others in cold northern climes report more and more frequent sightings of American Robins in winter. What is going on? Has something changed, or are there just crazy birds who linger?
Some of these winter birds might be more northerly populations that come southward to what is still a pretty snowy, cold place. If you see some robins with a nearly black back, brighter red breast, more prominent white eye ring and white throat streaking, you are probably seeing the northern race of the American Robin, coming down from Labrador or Newfoundland.
Also, research suggests that some resident robins simply decide to hang out for the winter if there is adequate food. They then have first dibs on the best territories before everyone else comes back. Fifty to 100 birds may flock together seeking food sources. Chances are, when you see robins in the winter, it isn’t just one or two, it’s a whole flock.
One thing going for these resourceful birds is their flexible diets. Summertime’s abundance of worms and insects suits their needs completely then. In the winter, robins change to an herbivorous diet, eating berries and other available fruits. Bittersweet, crabapples, rose hips, mountain ash, sumac, hawthorne, and other berries are eaten. If you put strawberries, raspberries, raisins, blueberries, apple pieces and other fruits out in the winter, robins might happen upon them and enjoy your bounty.
March is when the migrants generally return. Watch the weather and notice when the weekly temperature averages 37 degrees Fahrenheit. You’ll soon see robins if the snow cover is gone. Robins tend to appear with warm fronts, when rain drives worms from the thawing ground.