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Robin Migration Update: April 16, 2002
Today's Report Includes:
- Migration Update: Almost There!
- New Babies! Robin Nest Cam Videos: Challenge Question #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, and #23
- Julie's Robins: Fuzzy and Growing! Challenge Questions #24, #25, #26, and #27
- Window of Vulnerability--Robins Bonking into Glass: Challenge Question #28
- Mapping Migration: Discussion of Challenge Question #9
- Sitting on Eggs: Discussion of Challenge Questions #10 and #11
- Sitting Tight: Discussion of Challenge Questions #12, #13 and #14
- Growing Babies: Discussion of Challenge Question #15, #16, and #17
Migration Update: Almost There!
Robins are surging forward now. We always feel excited when they get farther north, but just as important are how many of them are filling in the gaps in states and provinces where they have already been reported. It's hard to judge how happy the robins are to be back, but we humans are sure happy to see and hear them again!
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In the past two weeks, robins have reached several more Northern Observation Posts! People living in the north are always delighted to see their first robin: we see a lot of exclamation points when Northern Observation Post reporters tell us their robins have finally arrived. Pam Randles wrote on April 14, 2002, from Haines, Alaska, "We have had a long cold spring, and were all getting impatient for spring. We got a dose today. With a south wind, came warmer temperatures, a robin, our first emerging tulips and four swans heading north. Since we have been keeping track, robins have always arrived in April, but anywhere from the first to the thirtieth. So they are on time. This year, the first robin arrived right in the middle of April."
On April 7, Lis Dilley reported from Deer River, Minnesota, "This morning on my morning walk I saw and heard my first robin of the season! The clever little guys were waiting for the temps to climb out of the 20's, I guess, just like me!"
Are you keeping track of their arrival in the far north? Don't forget to keep track of our Northern Observation
Posts, and see how your predictions compare with when the robins really arrive at each one! And don't forget Challenge
Question #6! 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?"
- Making Predictions: When Will Robins Reach the Northern Observation Posts? (first seen)
- Making Predictions: When Will Robins Reach the Northern Observation Posts? (first heard)
New Babies! Robin Nest Cam Videos
This week's Upland Hills School Nest Cam video clips show new life in the nest! See the video clips of the first baby to hatch, watch one of its first meals, and see how many brothers and sisters hatch out.
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As you watch the video clips, notice all these things:
- In the first clip the baby bounced a little when the mother jumped off the nest? Do you think that hurt?
- When the mother flies in during the second clip, her beak appears to be empty, yet she is clearly feeding her little one!
- After the mother feeds the nestlings, she reaches in with her beak and eats something.
- When the male robin flies in during the third clip, the mother gets up and opens her beak.
Then answer these Challenge Questions:
Challenge Question #18: "Do you think most robins bounce their babies a little when they fly off the nest? Can this hurt the eggs or nestlings?"
Challenge Question #19: "What is the mother feeding these tiny nestling?"
Challenge Question #20: "What is the mother eating in the second and third video clips?"
Challenge Question #21: "Why does the female open her beak when the male flies in?"
Challenge Question #22: "What food is the male bringing?
Challenge Question #23: "Why doesn't the male feed the babies?"
(To respond to these questions, please follow
the instructions below.)
Julie's Robins: Fuzzy and Growing!
Let's peek into the nest from Julie's Robin Nest Photo Study and see what's been happening. Then answer four more Challenge Questions!
Julie's Robin Nest Photo Study
For a better view, click on each photo!
Beaking and Feathering Out
Studying the World
Funky Hairdos
Challenge Question #24: "Before they open their eyes, how do they recognize their parents? How do they know their parents have arrived with food?"
Challenge Question #25: "How will noticing the position of the sun in the sky during the day when they're in the nest help these baby robins during migration?"
Challenge Question #26: "How does this crowded nest change the family's nighttime sleeping arrangements?"Challenge Question #27: "Why do baby robins have fuzzy down on their heads when their other feathers are starting to grow normally?"
(To respond to these questions, please follow the instructions below.)
Window of Vulnerability: Robins Bonking into Glass
Every year we at Journey North get questions like the one that came this week from Rita Katz: "We have enjoyed watching the many backyard birds over the years and this year, for the first time, one robin keeps perching on our bush next to our dining room window and keeps flying directly and persistently into the closed window. He has attempted this for several days and on occasion actually perches on the window ledge....seems to peer into the window and then attempts again to fly into the closed window.
"We would have thought that after repeated attempts, he would realize that the pain he must be experiencing would have deterred him from continuing this odd behavior. However, he seems determined to keep trying. I have closed the blinds in the room just in case he was seeing in the room and the odd behavior continues. It always appears to be the same robin since the behavioral pattern is always the same. Any suggestions on how we can discourage him from flying into the closed window glass?"
What do YOU think is causing this odd behavior? And what do you think would be a good solution for the problem? Let us know what you think by answering:
Challenge Question #28: "Why would a robin keep bashing against a window? What could people do to stop it from happening?"
(To respond to this question, please follow
the instructions below.)
Mapping Migration: Discussion of Challenge Question #9
Last time we asked you to find Beresford and Grand Manan on a map of New Brunswick, and to explain, "Why do you think migration is farther along in Grand Manan?"
Grand Manan is an island at the southern tip of New Brunswick. Beresford is on the coast in the far north of New Brunswick. Robins naturally reach the more southern point first. But we can also figure out some other interesting things by looking carefully at the two places. Both must have fairly cool climates, considering how far north they are and that they are on the ocean, but when warm south winds come to Grand Manan, they have travelled mostly over the ocean. South winds reach New Brunswick after flowing over a big amount of land that is partly still frozen. That keeps things colder in Beresford longer than in Grand Manan.
Sitting on Eggs: Discussion of Challenge Questions #10 and #11
Last time we showed the first three video clips from the Upland Hills Robin Nest Cam Project and asked several Challenge Questions.
Discussion of Challenge Question #10: "Why does the mother wiggle back and forth as she starts incubating?"
Many of you guessed that the wiggling, or the friction from it, is what keeps the eggs warm. But what actually
warms the eggs is the mother's bare tummy. When you look at a robin, it's whole body appears feathered, but actually
adult females lose all the soft down feathers that cover their belly before laying eggs. Larger outer feathers
from the sides and breast cover this bare spot, called an incubating or brood patch, but when the
mother sits down to incubate, she uses some of her skin muscles to pull the feathers off the brood patch so her
hot skin will be in direct contact with the eggs. Bobby Pogoloff's second and third graders in Crested Butte, Colorado,
made some very careful observations. Tessa thought "she might be trying to move around until she covers all
her eggs evenly." Kayla Albertella added that she might wiggle "to make sure her feathers covered the
outside edges of the eggs." This would help ensure that the mother's heat doesn't leak out the sides of the
nest. Jacob Grogg thought she might be rubbing on the eggs
to warm them like we rub our hands together when our hands get cold. This makes sense. Imagine someone putting
a cold hand on the back of your neck. A mother robin's tummy probably gets that same sharp feeling when it touches
cool eggs. Mick had seen an egg incubator and noticed it heated and rolled the eggs. He thought she might wiggle
to turn the eggs before she warms them. Actually, she MUST turn the eggs every day, but normally does this with
her beak. Journey North's Robin Expert Laura thinks the tummy wiggling does all these things, and is most important
both to help the mother make sure she's in contact with all of the eggs and to make sure she's comfortable--she's
going to be sitting for many long minutes!
Discussion of Challenge Question #11: "Why don't the eggs break under her?" Iselin Middle School
seventh graders A.J., Adam, Rawar, Jaime, and Desiree suggest that "A robin's eggs won't break under her weight
because she doesn't put all her weight on them. She puts just enough weight to keep them warm till they hatch."
First graders Andrew, Steven, Megan, Caralie and Jack from Ferrisburgh Central School add, "The eggs are
strong. The shell is hard so when the mother sits on them, they won't break. The shape is an oval and that shape
is strong." And that pretty much covers it!
Sitting Tight: Discussion of Challenge Questions #12, #13 and #14
Challenge Question #12: "Why is the mother's mouth open in the second video clip?" Some students suggested she could be squawking at a predator close to the nest, but if you look closely, you can see that even though she moves her head a little, looking about, her throat isn't wiggling at all. Also, when she shifts position, she still keeps her mouth open. What the mother is doing is panting! Her body must warm the eggs, but sitting in the sun as she's doing she gets a little overheated. Her tongue doesn't loll out the way a dog's does, but the open mouth helps her to keep cool.
Challenge Question #13: "Why doesn't she take a nap since she's stuck in one position anyway?" Second graders Emily, Dustin, Stephanie, Jack and Hannah at Ferrisburgh Central School are as observant as a mother robin! They wrote, "She is guarding the eggs so no one will get them. We saw a shadow flying near the dome in the third clip. She is watching to keep the eggs safe." If the mother spots a snake, cat, hawk, or sometimes even a nearby person, she'll squawk, and then she and her mate, and maybe some other birds, will form a mob that will fly at and harass the predator until it goes away.
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?" Seventh graders Jose, Jacquie, Geldof, and Purshptan
at Iselin Middle School suggested that "The mother robin probably picked this nesting spot because no one
can really see her in a high place. Also, she is probably nesting there in a geodesic dome because it was almost
finished and it is hard for predators to find them." And first graders Steven, Caralie, Jack, Megan, Michael,
Ashley, Jennifer and Andrew from Ferrisburgh Central School added, "The dome would be good protection from
the rain and other bad weather, like snow and hail. A greenhouse would be a warm place to keep your nest. She
went to the ladder because if she was at the top, other animals would have a harder time getting to her nest. It
might be quieter there as well."
Growing Babies: Discussion of Challenge Question #15, #16, and #17 Challenge Question #15: "What three things do these two newly hatched baby robins already know how to do?" Fourth graders Genevieve, Taylor, Patrick, and Kameron from Ferrisburgh Central School had some of the answers we were thinking of, and even a couple of things we hadn't thought of! They wrote, "The baby robins know who is their mother, they open their mouths when they see her. They know how to make noise. They know to eat and sleep." And they know one other thing: as soon as they swallow, they back up a little and poop!
Challenge Question #16: "How can the nest and other babies stay clean when one baby robin poops?" Fifth graders Andrew, Ryan, and Joseph from Ferrisburgh Central School used great research skills in coming up with their answer. They write, "When the baby robins poop, it comes out in a fecal sac. The fecal sac is made of thick strong mucus. The parents are then able to carry away the fecal sacs in their beaks without puncturing it because they are so thick. That is how the robin nests are kept clean. We found this information at
Challenge Question #17: "What is a reason why most birds don't grow feathers over their whole bodies
but only in tracts?" This was a tricky one! Every feather takes a lot of energy and food resources to produce.
Also, every feather is great at insulating--holding a bird's body heat in--but that makes it hard for birds to
cool off when they're overheated. By growing the feathers in tracts, birds can save energy AND keep cooler--when
they're overheated, they often expose parts of their bare skin to cool off.
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 #18 (OR #19 OR #20 OR #21
OR #22 OR #23 OR #24 OR #25 OR #26 OR #27 OR #28.)
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 23, 2002 (data only).
Copyright 2002 Journey North. All Rights Reserved.
Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form
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