Bottom's Up!

What's Happening Now
Here they come! The average latitude for robin "first" reports for the past week is almost 2 degrees, or 138 miles north from last week—the biggest push north yet this season. Robin "waves" reported also are almost two degrees north from last week. Here's a sample of observers' recent reports:

• California: "For the first time in 39 years at this address we witnessed a wave of 150 to 200 robins swarming a holly tree by our backyard. It was like an aerial Grand Central Station for two days, and stopped abruptly around 3:30 pm. Mar. 2."

• Nevada: "After seeing a couple waves of Robins, I learned their various songs from your recordings. Today I heard beautiful singing and realized it was a true song and there it was in the tree high above me!"

• Idaho: "After persevering through our below-average winter, one brave soul was singing today (March 1.)"

What to Watch For: By mid-March, the robin chorus will spread. The "First Robins Heard Singing" map probably reveals most clearly when and where robins are switching from winter feeding and flocking behaviors to spring migratory restlessness and territoriality—because that's when they sing. Get ready to listen and report!

The sightings reported above are just a few that tell us interesting data about the spring 2013 migration. They came from citizen scientists in action. Reporting from their own backyards, anyone and everyone can be a citizen scientist. How can you contribute to scientific research and discovery? Find out in this week's slideshow:

• Citizen Science

Northern Observation Posts (NOPs): Thanks to citizen scientists, we'll continue to have migration sightings as robins cross the map even in regions where fewer people live. Where are Journey North's 2013 NOPs? Has any NOP seen or heard their first robin?

• 2013 Northern Observation Posts

These maps show where people reported earthworms and robins. Patterns emerge as citizen scientists report their observations.What do you notice this week as you compare where robins are singing with first robin sightings?

First See (map/list)	Waves (map/list)	Singing (map/list)	Earthworms (map/list)

Your first sighting of Earthworms