American Robin
  
Robin Migration Update: February 12, 2013
Please Report
Your Sightings!

As blizzards and ice storms hit eastern and southern regions, reports of large waves of robins dotted those regions of our map. People were concerned about robins they'd seen: How do robins keep warm in winter?

This Week's Report Includes:

 Image of the Week
Winter robin in snow

Adapted for Cold
Image: Peter Raspberry
Migration News: Wandering Waves of Robins

"Fleeing the Nor'easter?" wondered a Virginia observer who reported a wave of robins on Feb. 9. Indeed, wave reports outnumbered other types of robin sightings during the past two weeks. Did robins move in response to dwindling food supplies and harsh weather? Here's a sample of what you've reported:

  • Maryland: "Our back yard has been overcome by about 120 robins in the last 15 minutes. They are eating and making lots of noise. Hanging around in the trees, then feeding on the ground, then back to the trees."
  • Florida: "They started coming in like in the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds"! A constant stream in the sky, and landing in the wetlands area. This went on for 35 minutes. About 5000 in all!"
  • Tennessee: "For the past the days the skies over Inglewood have been full of robins...Literally hundreds of thousands if not more. You can drive for several miles and the robins are still thick in the sky, not to mention the yards and fields."

Florida has mapped the most "wave" reports since Jan. 1., followed by Virginia, Texas, and Indiana. Since Feb. 1, the map has picked up 42 reports of FIRST robins—in 22 states and one province (AB).

Please continue to report your sightings. Citizen scientists help tell how robins are faring, and what their movements might mean.
flock of robins in a tree
Image: Denise Thomas
Nomads in a Flock
 
Feathers fluffed for warmth
Image: Randy Indish
Feathers Fluffed
 
wave of foraging robins
Image: Margie Pendergraft
Foraging for Food
Article: How Do Robins Keep Warm?
When robins face temperatures that drop below freezing and blizzards that pile up the snow, how do they keep warm? Use facts and photos in this article to discover answers, and then create poems about winter robins:

 



Latest Maps: Where Are Robins Now?

These maps show where people reported robins. What do you notice when you compare to the map of earthworm sightings?

Robin Migration Map: First Robin Robin Migration Map: Waves of Robins Robin migration map: First robins heard singing Earthworm migration map
First See
(map/list)		 Waves
(map/list)		 Singing
(map/list)		 Earthworms
(map/list)
Report Your Sightings! What, Where & How
First robin of spring Waves of robins Singin robin First earthworm of spring
The First Robin You
See

Robins migrating in Waves
The First Robin You
Hear Singing

Your first sighting of Earthworms
The next robin migration update will be posted February 26, 2013.

 

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