American Robin Migration Update: March 28, 2006 Today's Report Includes: This Week's Migration Data and Maps News From the NOPs: Where Have Robins Arrived? Looking, smelling, running, listening: Link to Lesson NEW! Focus on Feathers: Journey North for Kids NEW! Compare Short-Distance and Long-Distance Migrants Challenge Question #5 Reminder: Calling All Entries for the Early Bird Contest Flight By Night on the Vernal Equinox: Discussion of CQ #3 American Robin Migration Maps and Data First Robins Seen Waves of Robins First Robins Heard Singing* (map) (map) (map) (data) *Recommended for mapping Latest Migration News Robins really pushed north in just a few places, which you'll see right away on this week's map. Robins are singing in only 13 new places this week. What factors might have influenced this? As you look at this week's robin maps, what explanations can you find in Dr.David Aborn's last Weather and Songbird Migration report? Please keep watching and reporting! Your help is important for tracking the migration. News From the NOPs: Where Have Robins Arrived? How far north have robins gone? Journey North has a whole network of observers awaiting their robins at the end of the trail. Which Northern Observations Posts (NOPs) have now seen their first robin of spring? See this week's NOP field notes and look at the weather maps for clues that will help you make or revise your predictions for first robins at the NOPS. (Click below for the link to your prediction log sheet, where we've entered the newest ACTUAL sightings and songs.) When Will Robins Reach the End of the Trail? Making Predictions Photo: Wayne Kryduba Looking, Smelling, Running, Listening: Link to Lesson Everyone is noticing hungry robins: “While orienteering in NYC's Central Park on Sunday, I heard my first robin song of the year,” reports Betsy. “A great many other robins were on the lawns looking for food.” Mrs. Swentzel's third grade class in Stanhope, N.J. “interrupted a flock of robins searching for worms when we went out to check on our tulip garden. They have been very busy even though we have some cold nights down in the teens.” Looking, smelling, running, listening. Robins spend much of their lives searching for one of their favorite foods: earthworms. How DO they find them? An ornithologist named Frank Heppner wanted to know, so he set up some experiments. Dr. Heppner needed to investigate all the robins' senses. He got help from pieces of dead earthworm, living earthworms, rotten eggs, decaying meat, a small drill, and more odd things. Did he find an answer to his question? Find out here: Which Senses Do Robins Use to Find Worms? Dr. Heppner's Experiment Photo: Larry Koob NEW! Focus on Feathers: Journey North for Kids Feathers make robins fit for flying! What do you notice when you look at them up close? Use our helpful chart to write down what you observe and what you wonder about each thing you see in our photos. Then think about why each thing might exist. See what you know--and see what our expert helps you discover! Focus on Feathers NEW! Compare Short-Distance and Long-Distance Migrants Some of you saw a few robins over the winter, while others are still waiting to see and hear the first robins of spring. Whether or not you see robins in your area in winter, you probably never see Ruby-throated hummingbirds in the winter. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are long-distance migrants; they fly up to 2,000 miles between their wintering sites in Mexico and Central America and their breeding sites in the U.S. and Canada. Robins, though, are among the short-distance migrants. They migrate with the seasons, but many remain in winter in the more southern parts of their breeding range. As the migration season unfolds, compare the two species. Explore how the needs, adaptations, and migration patterns of robins and hummingbirds are intertwined. Our student record sheet helps you organize your thoughts, and you'll be surprised at what you discover as the season goes on. Get started today! Here's how: Short-Distance and Long-Distance Migrants: Comparing Robins and Hummingbirds Photos: Laura Erickson (Robin); Heather Ray (Hummingbird) After you begin this lesson, come back and send us your answers to: Challenge Question #5: “What are two ways in which a robin's specific food needs and preferences help explain its migration patterns?” To respond to this question, please follow these instructions. Students at Shageluk's Innoko River School Reminder: Calling All Entries for the Early Bird Contest! Last time we announced our 2006 Early Bird Contest and asked you to enter by sending your predictions to: Challenge Question #4: “When will the first robin of spring 2006 arrive in Shageluk, Alaska?” This Shageluk data, kept by Innoko River School, will help you make your predictions: Year Robin Arrival in Shageluk, AK 1997 April 20 1998 April 16 1999 April 27 2000 April 21 2001 no data 2002 no data 2003 April 24 2004 April 23 2005 April 9 2006 What's your prediction? Do you see the value of long-term record keeping? Without two of the pieces of data, what will you have to take into consideration in making your prediction? To respond to this question, please follow these instructions. Flight By Night on the Vernal Equinox: Discussion of Challenge Question #3 Challenge Question #3 asked: "Robins migrate at a speed of about 50 kilometers per hour. On the first day of spring, when night is exactly as long as day everywhere on the planet, how far might a robin go on its night flight? Look on a map and see if you can guess what town or city or your first robin of spring might have departed from the night before." Megan and Lillian from Ferrisburgh, VT said they thought that robins typically migrated during the day. We weren't trying to trick you! You'll find out more here: Responses to Challenge Question #3 The Next Robin Migration Update Will Be Posted on April 4*, 2006 (*Migration Maps and Data Only). Copyright 1997- 2006 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form.