The preliminary results of the winter robin round-up are here! Additional sightings will be added to next week's robin report. In the meantime, get out your map of North America and locate these places. A road atlas of the U.S. (and later of Canada) will help you find the towns where these sightings occurred.
To map the migration over the next weeks, we recommend marking each sighting with a small, round sticker. Select one color for this week and next week's sightings. Then, select a new color for the following 2 weeks, and so on. This way your map will show how the migration advances over time. Don't forget to send your robin reports according to the directions at the end of this message.
Date Location (# Robins)
01/28/96........Leander, Texas ("Hundreds" of robins)
02/02/96........Glenwood Springs, Colorado (8-10 robins)
02/06/96........Iowa City, Iowa (2 robins)
02/07/96........Iowa City, Iowa (1 robin)
02/09/96........Palo Alto, California (20 robins)
02/11/96........College Station, Texas ("Thousands" of robins)
02/11/96........Yakima, Washington (1 robin)
02/11/96........Iowa City, Iowa (1 robin)
02/13/96........Iowa City, Iowa (2 robins)
In addition to the sightings reported above, several people reported they did NOT see robins over the past weeks. Mike Dunn of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science sighted no robins in Raleigh, North Carolina. He says robins move toward the coast during cold spells. Exhibiting a migration that's highly weather dependent, the robins come and go from Raleigh as the weather warms and cools during the winter. Ms. Janice Caldridge of New Orleans, LA also reported, "We have not spotted robins as yet. The cold weather went so far south this year I wonder if it will delay spring migrations." Janice Catledge and Class, Harte Elementary in New Orleans MAWSE@jazz.ucc.uno.edu
Comments From Observers
From: TEXAS
January 28, 1996
We saw at least a couple hundred robins all along the San Gabriel
River bed near Leander, Texas!!! They were drinking from the river
and were in the forest beside it. I have seen a flock or so fly over
my house, but that was last year. Robins (my mom says) spend their
winters further south than our hometown, Georgetown, Texas. I am 13
years old and in 8th grade. I am also homeschooling this year.
Nicole Duff
taz@admin.inetport.com
From COLORADO:
February 2, 1996
We observed eight to ten robins in a bare apple tree at our home in
Glenwood Springs, Colorado. They soon took flight and have not been
seen since. We checked with our Department of Wildlife and was told
that a few will winter here because people feed them. When there is
a severe change in weather, they will move their location to a
warmer climate. The temperatures that week were ranging -8 to 0
lows and 16 to 22 highs. Our Colorado mountains are famous for
variable temperatures and weather conditions. We now have an
approximate 48 inch base of snow.
Sean and Gary Blomquist, Grade 3
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
janblom@infosphere.com
From IOWA:
February 7, 1996
One Robin resting in Hunters Run Park at 8:05 A.M. One more Robin
flying across Duck Creek Dr. at 8:15 A.M. Meagan Gugliano , Grade
5/6, Weber School
Iowa City, Iowa
kurtz@iowa-city.k12.ia.us
From CALIFORNIA:
February 9, 1996
Hi! My name is Mary Beth Forrest and I teach 4th grade at Hoover
School in Palo Alto, California. We are about 35 miles south of
San Francisco. Today after school was out, I saw at least 20
robins outside the window of my classroom. It was great to see a
sign of spring! I will have my class look for robins.
MEFORREST@aol.com
From TEXAS:
February 11, 1996
We're definitely on the robin fly-way. Paula Van Domelen, local
bird-watcher, had lots of them in her yard here in CollegeStation,
TX, drinking from her small pond and they seem to be very thirsty
due to the drought conditions here. She had to break the ice on the
pond for them during the cold spell week before last as they were
hitting the ice trying to drink. She spotted thousands of them at
the Camp Howdy Girl Scout camp (just out of town) last weekend. She
says that she has spotted the robins in large numbers for about a
week and a half - both males and females - she says the males come
first - it is stopover point for most of them while a few may winter
here.. but she says that there are thousands of them here now.
Kathy Kothmann
kathyk@tenet.edu
From WASHINGTON:
February 11, 1996
Mrs. Taylor, 4th grade teacher at Lince Intermediate in Selah, WA,
reproted one robin in Yakima, Washington.
tltaylor@destiny.esd105.wednet.edu
From IOWA:
February 11, 1996
I saw one flying around from tree to tree at 7:06 A.M. in Hawkeye Court.
Wei Shi, Grade 5/6, Weber School
Iowa City, Iowa
kurtz@iowa-city.k12.ia.us
From IOWA:
February 13, 1996
I saw 2 more robins sitting on a tree chirping.At 8:52 AM.
Anne-Marie Cannon, Grade 5/6, Weber School
Iowa City, Iowa
kurtz@iowa-city.k12.ia.us
How to Report Your Robin Sightings:
When you see your first robin of the season, send a Field Data Form to
Journey North. Simply press the button below labelled "Report Field
Observations" and report your sighting.
The Next Robin Migration Update Will Be Posted on February 27, 1996
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