Journey North Robin Migration

American Robin

FINAL NEWS FROM THE NORTHERN OBSERVATION POSTS
May 8, 2007
Check Your Predictions!

Shageluk, AK: Site of Our Early Bird Contest was Innoko River School. The first robin was seen April 22 and heard April 20.
Teacher Joy Hamilton writes: 99% of our snow is gone, our river is flowing free, people are fishing, duck hunting and riding bicycles. The temps have been very warm. Robins are here as well as Swallows and some butterflies. Frogs are in full chorus after a long winter. Later this month, more migrants to our area will be arriving, warblers and sparrows of various types, AND FISH. Fish migrate, too! Today several families will go out on the river and dip using long handled nets for white fish that come up the river after the ice goes out. In early July, the salmon start running up our river. Another sign of spring: mosquitoes! Usually, the day after the mosquitoes come out, the Swallows arrive. Thank goodness for the swallows! We get out of school on May 17. To all of you, have a great summer!

Steve Paulson: Lewistown, MT
We have a great day in Lewistown today. With the block schedule, my classes are going up the road towards the State Fish Hatchery on Big Spring Creek. They will measure Stream Volume and Velocity, TMDL or stream bottom makeup, Macro-invertebrate counts, and the April version of the Great Backyard Bird Count. Future scientists? Photos Steve Paulson.

Richard Darling: Nipawin , SK
Our robins have settled in the pine trees around and are telling everyone this is their homes. Their songs are a delight to hear! We haven't seen any hummingbirds, but tree swallows and sparrows are battling over the bird housing around our garden. Actually, there is room for all of them. The warm days are making the lawn grass green, and we are beginning to plant our garden vegetables. The new flowers are still in the greenhouse for a couple more weeks, as it can freeze in the nights.

Pam Randles, Haines and Talkeetna, AK
Haines We had a great deal of snow this year and it is still melting. Usually it is long gone by now. But it is raining and the snow is going fast, so hopefully soon it will be gone and spring can really come. Spring birds have arrived and their songs are filling the air, despite the snow.

Marc Landry: Beresford, NB
The weather is not too bad. Calling for some flurries overnight with a temperature reaching 6°C tomorrow... BRRRRR. Outlook is pretty good with temperature in the mid teens.

Tulips are slowly growing.... a couple of weeks and they should be in bloom.
Most of the warm weather birds are not yet present. No swallows, orioles and warblers.

Poplar and birch are starting to produce pollen. I also have seen a few maples with new buds starting to swell. I’m still pruning apples trees. The sap is not running much.

Margot Hervieux, Grande Prairie, AB
Migrants continue to arrive every day or so and many are stopping at my back yard bird feeder. The snow is gone, the ice is off most of the larger lakes and my tulips should bloom next week if I protect the last couple from a hungry deer. All we need now is a few warm days and the leaves should be out on the poplar trees.

Ute Keitsch: Port Hope, ON
We have lots of Robins but we have no leaf out. Even the lilacs are only in buds. I know it will change in the next few days since we will get warmer weather. The nest building will pick up when the leaves come out.

Our Toronto Star newspaper published a story Called "COLLIDING WORLDS” regarding the total of 5,461 birds that died or injured flying into Toronto's Building. Did you hear about FLAP? Toronto wants to become bird friendly and will have Bird Friendly Guidelines for Architects and Developers.

Linda Hoffman, Creston, BC
The robin pair that decided to build a nest in the honeysuckle vine that climbs up the support post on our deck has been very entertaining the last couple of weeks. First Mrs. Robin spent a week building a lovely nest and then for about 5 days she totally disappeared. We thought she had abandoned this nest or something had happened to her. But maybe she was just taking a holiday, as she returned on April 27th and laid her first egg. She is now sitting on the nest and Mr. Robin is always nearby keeping an eye out for any danger. He also comes over to guard the nest when she takes a break. We bought some thin plastic netting that we will put up under the nest area to see if that will deter any cats.

The weather has been very unsettled with a lot of wind making for a slow spring. We also saw the first calliope hummingbird on April 20th and the first Rufous on the 28th. This is about a week later than usual.

Dominique Cloutier: St Sauveur des Monts, PQ
Well, another year just went by! My robins are doing well; we have no more snow on the ground, so they come to feed themselves. I see them early morning, around 7a.m., and then again around 6 p.m.!

Bruce Bennett: Whitehorse, YT
Spring has definitely arrived in the Yukon, though it does seem that summer is still a long way away. Some of the signs of spring: motor homes beginning to arrive in greater numbers; snow-free golf course (but I haven’t seen a golfer yet); evening chorus of chainsaws being replaced by bird song; University students returning home from their studies in the south and Alaska; ice disappearing on the lakes and a few of the smallest lakes are ice free, whilst the largest lakes are still ice-covered except for the edges; Dandelions in bloom (the first May 4th) and Prairie Crocus in bloom; catkins on aspen, willow and alder trees.

The first Red-winged Blackbird was reported on May 2nd. Also on May 2nd two Whooping Cranes were reported in a remote area of southwestern Yukon. The observer said that he was familiar with Sandhill Cranes and it wasn’t a Sandhill. But the report remains unconfirmed. This is not the first report of Whooping Cranes in the territory. Most of the sparrows, finches and water birds have arrived including several species of shorebirds including Killdeer, Baird’s, Pectoral and Least sandpipers, American Golden and Semi-palmate plovers. We are still missing most of the insect eating birds, with the exception of Violet-green and Cliff swallows, Orange-crowned and Myrtle’s warblers and Hammond’s Flycatcher. We still don’t have Barn Swallows or Common Loon.

There are no leaves yet and the temperature continues to drop just below freezing at night. Last night it snowed a little more than an inch and the snow is continuing.