American Robin
Migration Update: March 17, 2009 
Please Report
Your Sightings! >>

Today's Report Includes:


Photo Andy Wilson
What are these robins doing, and why? Click for More >>

 
The Migration: Maps, Questions, Highlights

First Seen
(map/sightings)

First Wave
(map/sightings)

First Song Heard
(map/sightings)

Highlights: Abundance Increasing
The maps show the results of last week's cold, snowy, or rainy weather. While robin distribution hasn't changed a great deal in the past week, robin abundance has. Do you see that clusters of dots are starting to fill in more solidly across the continent? Where do you see robins this week where none were seen before? How has northward progress changed from a week ago?

The long-awaited first true song is making happy news in more places, too: "I heard an American Robin singing its territorial song this evening [March 12] at dusk. I saw lots of American Robin Waves migrating in February and have seen lots of American Robins flying into conifers in the evening. I have heard them use contact calls confirming their whereabouts. But, tonight was the first territorial singing this season." (East Wenatchee, WA)

Today's Map Questions
>>


 
Citizen Scientists Report: What Are They Observing?

Many of you observe what robins are doing but you wonder why. You wonder where they're coming from and where they are going. A robin's behavior can help you know the answers. Get ready for this week's journal topic by reading the details from a few recent sightings:

  • Explore recent sightings! >>

Expand Your Migration Journal
Collect and reflect on observations and learning experiences while you wait and watch for your robins to return. We now have two new page choices (with links to teacher guides) for your robin journals

For Your Journal
Explore Recent sightings!

Journal Question: Locals or Migrants? Lesson: Local or Migrant: Which is Which? >>

This observer gives us this week's journal question:

"At first they looked a lot like kids playing on a jungle gym in those trees. Ten or more would be hopping from branch to branch, tree to tree, running on the ground, eating berries, socializing, and chasing each other. They were very hyper. No territories seemed to be established yet. One thing I'm not sure about: Are these robins migrants, or locals hunkering in the valley — or both?"

  • Are these locals or migrants — or both? Explain your answer.

 


Photo K. DeMusey

Are these robins migrants, or locals — or both? Tell what you think, and why.

 

Identify Northern Outposts: When Will Robins Reach the End of the Trail?
Meet our official Northern Observation Posts (NOPs)! Because few people live in the most remote regions, we have found willing student and adult volunteers to watch for the robins to arrive at the northern limits of their range. (Look for the yellow stars on the robin maps.) For a few, the waiting is over — but in snowy Whitehorse, Yukon, Bruce Bennett said, "It is hard to imagine that spring is only 1 week away." How long must they wait for their robins?

Robin migration is tightly connected to weather. One theory says that robins migrate along with average temperatures of 36 degrees F. Investigate this theory and it can help you make predictions about when the robins will reach the NOPs and the end of the trail! Dig in here:
  • Lesson: When Will Robins Reach the End of the Trail? >

 



Take the challenge! Start watching the temperature maps and filling in your NOP prediction log today. (We'll be adding the actual NOP arrivals and singers as their sighting dates are reported.)

Scientists Investigate: Any Worms for Rocky Mountain Early Robins? Slide Show >>
Teacher Guide >>

Robins migrate northward in the spring — and some robins migrate “upward” too! It takes a while for spring to climb a mountain. A group of scientists working in a Colorado mountain lab wondered about robins that came there to breed. They knew that 20 years earlier, the birds arrived around April 4th. But now the robins are showing up earlier. What could be the advantages of robins arriving on breeding grounds earlier than usual? What could be the disadvantages? Find out here:

  • Rocky Mountain Robins: The Early Bird Has No Worms! >>

Slide Show
Digging Deeper: Go on a Worm Hunt
Lesson: Worm Hunt! >>

Mrs. Kistler's third grade class reported seeing worms out after a warm rain. (March 9, Cub Run, KY) Have YOU noticed any earthworms yet? Robins and worms have an important connection.

Please start looking for earthworms, and keep sending your sightings of robins: The first robin you SEE, WAVES of robins, the first robin you HEAR singing its territorial song. Your data help build the real-time story of spring migration 2009. Thank you, citizen scientists!

A Humorous Read-Aloud >>
Links: This Week's Robin Resources to Explore
  • Look Closely (Photo Study): What are these robins doing, and why? >>
  • Predict (Lesson): Testing a Temperature Theory About Robin Migration >>
  • Predict and Record: When Will Robins Reach the End of the Trail? >>
  • Observe: Local or Migrant: Which is Which? >>
  • Observe (Checklist): Spring Phenology of Robins >>
  • Slide Show: Rocky Mountain Robins: The Early Bird Has No worms >>
  • Observe and Collect: Worm Hunt! >>
  • Ask the Expert: Send Questions By Noon, March 20 >>


Photo C. Hipschen

More Robin Lessons and Teaching Ideas!

The Next American Robin Migration Update Will Be Posted on March 24*, 2009.

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