Date: 02/23/2001

Number: 1

At present there are still enormous flocks feeding on the Brazillion peppers in my neighborhood (flocks of thousands with Cedar Waxwings mixed in). They completely cover the lawns in my neighborhood at times and I've counted over 250 in my rather small backyard alone. Interestingly enough they aren't all down here. I have friends in Rochester, NY who have been monitoring a nightly winter roost at Mendon Ponds Park that offers shelter to tens of thousands of birds up there. I haven't seen it yet, but I understand it's quite a spectacle to be there at sundown to watch them peel in from great altitude. When I lived up there years ago, it was a common misconception that robins all left for the winter. Of course many did, but those that stayed on simply changed their habits. They move deeper into the heavy cover in wooded ravines with small patches of open water and lots of fruit. Bluebirds would often do the same. As such, people weren't seeing them as readily and assumed they were gone.

Port Charlotte, FL

Latitude: 27 Longitude: -82.2

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