Date: 01/28/2001

Number: 1

Robins do winter here...in huge flocks eating all the winter fruits...poison
ivy berries and dogwood berries are favorites. We can find them in the fall
as early as September. It's usually late January or into February before
they leave the woods and more remote areas, having devoured all the fruits,
and begin to be seen in residential areas. We noticed robins arrived *in
towns* earlier this year...late December. The thinking was/is that because
of our terrible drought, the fruits in the woods were in short supply. I've
had flocks of 50 or more in our yard off and on all month. I hear their
calls, but no songs.We've had robins nesting in our block for 3 years. A few do remain to nest,
these are the first I've had in 20 years of watching.

An unpleasant but true side note. Robins have been hunted in some regions of
LA for a long time. I think the custom is wearing out now. The southwestern
part of the state was the worst offender. Robins were said to make a good
Cajun sauce piquant. The hunting wasn't for sport but to put food on the
table if that makes it any less offensive..??? The legallity of it didn't
seem to matter.

Slidel, LA

Latitude: 30.2 Longitude: -89.5

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