American Robin Migration Update:
March 14, 2006
American Robin Migration Maps and Data
Look at all the new sightings ( pink circles) on the map! What do you notice? Can you see a clear pattern on the map? How did the “pace” of spring change from last time? What factors might have influenced this?
The happy comments from Lisa in Reston, VA, summed up her news: “I could hear robins singing and calling from virtually every direction...it was most sweet! Welcome, Spring!” In another Virginia report, robins were coming in waves: “I have never seen so many robins in one place; literally hundreds descended into my neighbor's and my backyard.” Up in Michigan, an observer who heard lots of scolding but no real songs, said, “I suppose they are tired from traveling like any new tourist!” Indeed, like any new tourist, you reported that the new arrivals also seem thirsty, hungry, and busy:
Flight By Night on the Vernal Equinox: Challenge Question #3 Last time we said that many scientists believe robins fly approximately 30 mph (48-50 kilometers per hour) when they migrate. Next time the calendar will have passed from winter to spring. Our next Challenge Question honors migrating robins and the vernal equinox, coming March 20. Send us your answers!
People living at the yellow stars on this map (see Web report) are eager to share their first robin news with you, but for most of them it’s going to be a longer wait. But the fun starts as soon as you read the fascinating clues and facts sent by some of our NOPs. What do students in Shageluk, Alaska, consider as their FIRST sign of spring? How does Anchorage teacher Mike Sterling say spring is different for people who live in the high latitudes? Which NOP hasn’t had any snow-days but they did have an "ash” day when a nearby volcano erupted? What was the only NOP to see robins? In which NOP would YOU like to live? Read this week’s news from the end of the robin migration trail:
Calling all entries! After several years of being headquartered in Anchorage, our contest has moved to the village of Shageluk for the 2006 Early Bird Contest. Meet your official hosts, the students from Innoko River School in Shageluk, Alaska, who will report when the first robin arrives in their village: These students (or their teacher, Joy Hamilton) will send their news in our next reports. Starting today (see “News From the NOPs”), their news and clues will help you make your predictions about the early bird’s arrival date. To enter the contest, simply send us your answer to Challenge Question #3. Best of luck to all!
Link to Lesson: Making Predictions for the NOPs Robins make their way to the far north to lay eggs and raise the next generation. When will robins reach the northern limits of their migration trail? We’ll have to wait and see, but this lesson leads you on a tour of some exiting maps to help you predict. You’ll also find your personal 2006 Prediction Log for the NOPS. The suspense begins now, but the average temperature maps and clues sent by our NOPs in the coming weeks will help you make or revise your predictions. We challenge you to be an average temperature expert and see how close your predictions come!
You're
the Expert: What’s Your Reply?
After you discuss your ideas or write them in your robin journals, see what our expert thinks: Discussion of Challenge Question #2: Name That Tune Challenge Question #2 asked you to listen and identify: "Which of these numbered vocalizations will you hear when your robins are back on their breeding territory?" Congratulations to the tuned up robin song experts at Ferrisburgh Central School in Ferrisburgh, VT! They named the right tune, saying:
Students in The American Robin Group at Ardaghy National School (ages 9-12) have joined Journey North. In their answer to CQ #1, which arrived after the last report had already been posted on the Web, we were curious and delighted when they included this: “We have robins in Ireland and they stay all year as our weather is never too cold, although we get some snow. Our robin is smaller than yours and the colour is different.” Journaling Question: “What can you find out about the robins seen by Journey North students in Ireland?” Ask the Robin Expert: Now Open! Questions are now being accepted by American Robin expert, Laura Erickson. (Look for Laura's new book, "101 Ways to Help Birds," coming to in bookstores in April!) This is your chance to ask Laura about your backyard robins. Robins and the Weather What clues about robin behavior can you find in the comments of Laura Erickson as she tells about her first singing robin of spring 2006?
The very next day, several inches of snow fell. It looked and felt like winter in the northland! Laura said, “Robins, with no thermostats or hot cocoa or electric blankets or indoor lighting, deal with the immediacy of weather every moment of their lives. . . So my first robins weren’t surprised and disappointed by yesterday’s snow storm. . . Unlike us, robins come equipped with dense down underwear and a more Zen-like attitude, satisfactorily equipped to deal with weather of all sorts. They may quiet down for a day or two, or even a week or more, until the snow melts once again. But they’re here to stay, and they won’t be spending the next few weeks desperately searching for signs of spring." The Next Robin Migration Update Will Be Posted oN March *21 (*Migration Maps and Data Only).
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