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Robin Migration Update: April 2, 2002

Today's Report Includes:

Migration Update: Pressing Onward
Imagine being in Fulton, New York on March 29, when observers reported "Over 1100 raptors were counted passing Derby Hill today, making it the best day of the season so far, but they were overshadowed by the thousands of non-raptors making their way back north. Estimates for the numbers of birds seen include 2000 American Robins!" So where are we seeing them this week?

(To view data reported, click on caption below each map.)

First Robins
Seen

Waves
of Robins

First Robins Heard Singing

photo by Ann Cook

Robins are surging forward, males getting ever closer to our Northern Observation Posts (including one observation in Beresford, New Brunswick!), and females are following. Anne Carr found one singing all the way up in Minden, Ontario, on March 31. She wrote, "One lonely exciting robin and song high up in a tree - flew off - no worms yet!" That same day, Mark Landry heard one up in Beresford, New Brunswick, despite two feet of snow on the ground. Of course, elsewhere in New Brunswick it was looking more like spring. In Grand Manan, one observer wrote on March 30, "While we certainly have had spring migrants coming through, today really looks like spring. When the fog cleared this morning the neighbourhood was full of robins, grackles, red-winged blackbirds and dark-eyed juncos. Practically every lawn has 10-30 birds foraging. No doubt the fog slowed their progress during the night despite the bright moon and they fell out on Grand Manan." Beresford and Grand Manan are both in New Brunswick. Why do you suppose it is so much more springlike in Grand Manan?

Challenge Question #9:
"Find Beresford and Grand Manan on a map of New Brunswick. Why do you think migration is farther along in Grand Manan?"

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

It was warming up and raining in Ottawa, Ontario, on March 30 when Paul Francis found two males looking for food and singing. On March 28, Michaela Ormond, in Monument, Colorado, noted, "I know I heard a Robin last week , but did not actually see it... today, however, I saw a Robin when I had to slow down to get past the mail carrier. It was about 60 today after a cold and stormy beginning to the week. Springtime is finally here. Hurray! It has been a long cold winter around here." Ellen Karelitz's class in Durham, New Hampshire, had a special treat on March 28: "This morning, we looked out our classroom window to see the playground field covered with robins. We watched them "pouncing" on worms for about 20 minutes. We saw some eating worms. Last week we had 6 inches of snow followed this week by freezing rain and then an evening of hard downpour. We wondered what the robins would do. Maybe they were waiting somewhere for the weather to improve. Today it was sunny and 49 degrees. Some children say they saw them arrive yesterday afternoon while they were in afterschool daycare. We are very excited!"

Keep watching and report YOUR first robins!

Introducing Karin Nanos's Robin Cam!
Karin Nanos (right) and Technical Advisor Tyler

Karin Nanos, a teacher at Upland Hills School in Oxford, Michigan, found a rare and exciting "teachable moment" when a pair of robins nested on a ladder in a geodesic dome greenhouse students were constructing. Students at the school made a wonderful compromise so they could continue to build the dome without disturbing the robins. Meanwhile, one student studying the babies produced a video showing the baby robins at every stage from egg to fledging.

To learn how she set up a videocam to study the nesting robins up close and personal, see

Then watch video footage of the mother robin incubating her eggs!

(To view video, click on the best file format for your computer beneath each photo)

MPEG
Quick Time
Real Media

MPEG
Quick Time
Real Media

MPEG
Quick Time
Real Media

After viewing the videos, answer these questions!

Challenge Question #10:
"Why does the mother wiggle back and forth as she starts incubating?"

Challenge Question #11:
"Why don't the eggs break under her?"

Challenge Question #12:
"Why is the mother's mouth open in the second video clip?"

Challenge Question #13:
"Why doesn't she take a nap since she's stuck in one position anyway?"

Challenge Question #14:
"What do you think made the mother robin choose this nesting spot, on a ladder inside a partly-finished geodesic dome, for her nest site?"

(To respond to these questions, please follow the instructions below.)

Julie's Robins Hatch!
Last week we introduced Julie's Robin Nest Photo Study. Let's peek into the nest and see what's been happening. Then answer three more Challenge Questions!

Julie's Robin Nest Photo Study
For a better view, click on each photo!

Happy Birthday TWO You!

Happy Birthday Again!

Happy Birthday Yet AGAIN!!

Challenge Question #15:
"What three things do these two newly hatched baby robins already know how to do?"

Challenge Question #16:
"How can the nest and other babies stay clean when one baby robin poops?"

Challenge Question #17:
"What is a reason why most birds don't grow feathers over their whole bodies but only in tracts?"

(To respond to these questions, please follow the instructions below.)

Keep Kitty Indoors!
During migration, birds are particularly vulnerable to predators. They are unfamiliar with their surroundings, and tired and hungry after the long journey. This makes them perfect prey for a cunning cat roaming outdoors.

Cats are dangerous predators for birds during the nesting season, too. Lisa Bowman, in Vincennes, Indiana, reported on March 30, 2002, "Robins in the front yard and the back yard are furiously gathering nesting material and building nests. The backyard robins are building in the Hawthorne tree. Good choice due to lots of cats in the neighborhood. They chose a particularly tight spot. They bring a mouth full of grasses, sit on the nest and weave around themselves so the nest will fit. They also seemed to have picked a piece of a walmart sack to weave into their nest."

We're glad Lisa's robins are safe for now! We're a little nervous about when the babies fledge, with all those cats in the neighborhood. Baby robins leave the nest before they can fly well. Whenever you see newly fledged baby birds on the ground or taking short practice flights, remember that they are easy prey for a roaming cat. There's a simple solution: Keep kitty indoors.

True or False? Worldwide, cats may have been involved in the extinction of more bird species than any other cause, except habitat destruction. To see the answer, and to find out why keeping kitty indoors isn't just for the birds, go to:

Announcing Poster Contest for National Keep Your Cat Indoors Day
It's time for the American Bird Conservancy's third national poster competition, and we hope you'll enter! National Keep Your Cat Indoors Day is May 11, 2002, timed to team with International Migratory Bird Day. The aim is to educate cat owners that both cats and wildlife benefit when cats are kept indoors. Enter the contest by creating a poster that depicts a happy indoor cat. Your entry should be in a campaign poster or advertisement style. That's it! The deadline is May 1, 2002. The contest has winners in three age categories: Ages 6-7, 8-9, and 10-12. Winners will be announced by May 11 on American Bird Conservancy's Web site Find out about prizes, poster sizes, and where to mail your entries here:

Leapfrog Migration: Discussion of Challenge Question #4
Last time we asked, "Will the flocks of migrating robins that are currently in the south end up in the northern, central, or southern parts of the robin nesting range?"

That was a tricky question! Usually when robins arrive in an area, they start singing that very day. That's because usually the first robins to arrive in an area are the ones that are going to remain there on territories. Robins coming after them "jump over" them to go farther north. This is what scientists call leapfrog migration. Birds going farther north simply wait it out in the south until conditions seem right. So at each latitude, the first birds to arrive are the ones that will stay, and later arrivals jump over them. You can tell the robins who are staying from the robins who are "jumping over" by whether or not they're singing. Our guess is that the MIGRATING robins still in the south are the ones that will end up in the northern-most parts of their breeding range!

East vs. West: Discussion of Challenge Question #5
Last time we asked, "Why do the Journey North maps show so many more robin sightings in the eastern half of North America than the western half?"

This is another tricky question. There are two big differences between eastern North America and western: the Rocky Mountains run through the western, and the climate of the western half is much drier than that of the eastern half. Because robins need worms, they depend on moist soil, which is harder to find in the more arid West. The eastern half of the continent is so much wetter that we simply get more robins seen there.

Don't forget! Make YOUR Prediction for Challenge Question #6
We're still waiting for the first robin sightings at most of our Northern Observation Posts. Don't forget to update your prediction sheet with the latest sighting! Last time we asked "When do you think the first robin will be spotted in Anchorage, Alaska (61.22 N, 149.90 W)?" Do you think it will arrive with the 36-degree isotherm?" Don't forget to make your prediction as an answer to Challenge Question #6.

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

Taking Shelter: Discussion of Challenge Questions #7 and #8
Sitting Pretty
photo by Julie Brophy

Last time for Challenge Question #7 we asked, "Why do you think robins virtually never build their first nest of the year in an oak or maple?"

Second graders Andrew, Casey, Kyle, Ben, Brittany and Brendan at Ferrisburgh Central School explain it perfectly: "The maple tree or an oak tree doesn't have any leaves right now. So there is no shade, no shelter from the rain or wind."

In Challenge Question #8 we asked you to "List some ways that weather affects robin nest construction."

Second grader Ben at Ferrisburgh Central School made this list:

  • Parts could blow away in the wind.
  • The mud could turn into water and drip down if it rained a lot. The nest would be soggy.
  • If it is snowing, they would have a hard time with frozen twigs and frozen dirt.
  • If it is a sunny day, they could build easily.
  • If it is sleeting, it would be hard to fly around and get things.

Seventh graders Erin, Megan, Niral and Jeff at Iselin Middle School added some important ideas. They pointed out that storms can knock down trees, destroying nests. And during the time that females are building a nest, it can take much longer for nest construction. So the weather before and during nest-building is most important.

We're lucky to have such good researchers and thinkers participating in Journey North! To see the answers we've prepared for Julie's Robin Nest Photo Study, see this:


How to Respond to Today's Challenge Questions:

IMPORTANT: Answer only ONE question in each e-mail message.

1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-robin@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #6 (OR #9 OR #10 OR #11 OR #12 OR #13 OR #14 OR #15 OR #16 OR #17)
3. In the body of each message, answer ONE of the questions above.

Please Report the First Robin you SEE, the first robin you HEAR singing, and other interesting robin observations. Your reports will be incorporated into these Robin Migration Updates.

The Next Robin Migration Update Will be Posted on April 9, 2002 (Data Only)

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