| Please
Report Your Sightings! |
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More robins pushed into Canada this week, eagerly awaited at their summer homes. Observers report more robins exhibiting spring-like behaviors. For example, it's worm hunting season and people watch with wonder: How do robins find earthworms? What senses do they use?
This Week's Report Includes:
- The Migration
- Explore: What Senses Do Robins Use to Find Worms?
- Looking Ahead: A Challenge from Alaska
- Research Question and Links: Investigate!
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Stop,
look and listen as we celebrate the arrival of spring! You
can discover a lot by observing. Could you discover how
this robin found that worm? More |
| What's
Happening Now Yes, the birds, the observers and now the calendar say spring is here. This week robins pushed into Canada. Of 82 "first" sightings reported during the past week, one-fourth were north of the U.S. border:
Yet, our American robin expert is in Duluth, MN, impatiently waiting for the 36-degree isotherm and major robin movements to reach her. ”I’m so hungry to hear a robin singing!” said Laura Erickson. It's a different story in other parts of the country. Click into the sightings reports to see for yourself what's happening now. |
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| What
to Watch For Claiming territories: See the Robin Checklist for Spring Observations so you know what to watch for.
Try This! Build your birdwatching skills as you take time to observe, draw and write about your robins this wonderful spring. |
Which is Male? Which is Female?
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"Clans of robins are out scouring the yard and woods for worms! There will be 15-20 in one spot just working the ground. You can actually see the dust flying when they flip up leaves! Loving spring!" cheered an observer in Roanoke, VA, this week. But why did the robins think worms were there?
An ornithologist named Dr. Frank Heppner wanted to know how robins located earthworms. He set up experiments, knowing he would need to investigate all the robin's senses. Before reading about his experiments, take a peek at the materials Dr. Heppner used and think about how he used each item to investigate robin senses.
- Journal Page: What senses do robins use to find worms?
- Reading: Dr. Heppner's Experiment and Conclusions
How
could you test?
Is
the robin looking, listening, feeling, smelling — or tasting?
Just in: A message to you from Ms. Hamilton's class at Innoko River School in Shageluk, Alaska. In next week's report you'll hear more about these students and all the other yellow stars on our map (Northern Observation Posts), who are waiting for robins at the end of the migration trail. For now:
HELLO
JOURNEY NORTH INVESTIGATORS! NO SPRING BIRDS yet but we expect them ANY day! |
"Our
first spring migratory bird sightings are Bald Eagles and/or Snow Buntings.
We've had Bald Eagles as early as March 3, 2004 and Snow Buntings as
early as March 21 —which leads us to a challenge
question and we hope to hear from YOU!" Ms. Hamilton's
class
| This Week's Research Question: | Other links to explore: |
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How do a robin's senses compare to our own? Explore this link to do your research: |
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Please
Report Your Sightings! |
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| The
First Robin You See |
Robins migrating in Waves |
The
First Robin You Hear Singing |
Your first sighting of Earthworms |
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The Next Robin Migration Update Will Be Posted on March 29, 2011.
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