FINAL American Robin Migration Update: April 27, 2004

Today's Report Includes:

• Latest Migration News: 2 NOP Locations Still Waiting For Robins
• Nests in the News
• Into the Nest With Julie’s Robins
• Fun Math Questions for Your Science Journal
• Run, Robin, Run: Video Clip
• Wiggling off a Robin’s Lunch Menu: Investigate Escaping Predation
• Chow Down: Make a Pie Chart
• Splish, Splash! Robins Like a Bath
• Who is That Masked Robin? Photo Study/Link to Lesson
• The Robins in Our Backyards: FAQs
• Summer Robin Watching: Link to Observation List
• Counting Survivors: Discussion of Challenge Question #10
• Year-end Evaluation: Please Share Your Thoughts!

You’ll know which of our Northern Observation Posts in Alaska and Canada are still waiting for their first robins when you check the chart of our NOPs, below. When will the first robins appear there? As soon as they report, their sightings will show up on the map server and data bank (push the owl button on any Journey North page):

• NOPs First Robin Song, 2004

In the meantime, you might enjoy a "cool" snapshot from one of our NOP locations:

"Well, the home stretch is a bit FROSTY i n Lethbridge. Snow came to the Prairies Sunday in Swift Current, SK and Monday night in Lethbridge. This picture was taken this morning, Wed May 11 and the temperature was -2C!" Wayne Dwornik

• Port Perry, Ontario, May 8: "Chicks hatched! Three tiny, bald, and quite ugly little robin chicks. Mom and Dad feeding furiously."
  
• St-alphonse-de-granby, Quebec, May 9: "Robin is feeding 4 babies."

• Homer, AK, May 11: "Robins, robins, robins everywhere. A lot of singing going on, and nest building. One robin is rebuilding a nest that is on top of a swallow's
  nest box above our kitchen window."
  
• Canton, Ohio, May 6: "We have 3 nests within 10 feet of our house and today I found 3 brand new baby Robins in one!! They were born within the last 36 hours or so because last I checked they were still eggs. The other 2 nests still have mama sitting on them and no little beaks poking up yet."
  
• Swartz Creek, MI, May 5: "First of 2 hatchlings seen in nest."
  
• Stoutsville, OH, May 4: "Mama" is getting braver and braver when it comes to me being near her nest. I haven't yet seen more than one egg, but it has been two days since last I looked. The mother robin built her nest over the weekend of April 17-18 2004. She built her nest in my hanging basket of petunias on my front porch. I love having her right out my window to watch and I can't wait till the babies come along too.
  
• Fairbanks, AK, May 9 (filed late): "I have been away from Fairbanks for a week and in that time the robins arrived--apparently around May 1st. Today, May 9, they are singing all over town."
  
  

  Credit: Heather Ray

  Port Perry, ON: "Only a mother could love 'em"

Ute Klietsch made this comment about her robins up in Ajax, Ontario, Canada: "All the first nests I know of have been destroyed by the raccoons. Hopefully there will be more choices now that the leaves are finally sprouting."

This makes us wonder: What do leaves sprouting have to do with nest safety? Why do you think robins virtually never build their first nest of the year in an oak or maple? What are some ways that weather affects robin nest construction? You’ll find helpful information to answer these questions as you jump into this week’s Robin Nest Photo Study, below.

Link to Robin Nest Photo Study

2. If a robin lays her first egg on May 1 and everything happens in an exactly average way, what date do you think her babies will fledge from the nest?
Here's some step-by-step help from our robin expert Laura: "Laying one egg per day, she will lay her fourth (last) egg, and start incubating, on _____. She will incubate for an average of 13 days, so they should hatch on __________. The babies will remain nestlings for an average of 12 days, so they should fledge on _______."

Run, Robin, Run! Regular Speed and Slow Motion	Credit: Gordon Kratzat

You already know that robins love worms! Worms have lots of nutritious protein and valuable calories for robins. But robins round out their diets with food besides worms. When robins are running on a lawn hunting for worms, they're also searching for other tasty morsels. They eat beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and even snails and slugs. All are rich in protein and other nutrients that robins need for growing strong bodies and new feathers.

Try This!
Use binoculars to carefully study a robin on a lawn. Can you identify any of its prey besides earthworms? Make a list of the different animals a robin takes.

• View Printer-friendly Worm Migration Data

Have you ever noticed a robin tugging a worm out of the ground? Worms do NOT want to become bird food, so their bodies have a special adaptation to hang on for dear life to the walls of their burrow. Every segment of a worm’s body (except the first and last) has four pairs of tiny, stiff hair-like projections called setae. Controlled by their own muscle system, the setae act like strong hooks. When a robin or other bird grabs a worm in its burrow, some of the worm’s setae dig in and hold the top end of the worm in place. At the same time, the worm’s other end contracts to move it deeper into the burrow. Thanks to the setae, the birds really have to tug to pull out a worm. And some worms are lucky enough to actually escape the predators by burrowing deeper underground. You might wonder how long it would take for an earthworm to go underground. What variables might affect the time it takes? If you were a worm trying to escape a hungry bird, what would your luck depend upon? Would the soil type make any difference? Use worms to investigate how long it take a worm to get underground in various soil types, and to consider variables that might affect the time it takes. (Remember to place your worms safely back in shaded soil after they’ve helped you with your investigation.) See directions here:

• Disappearing Act: Escaping Predation

In his book The American Robin, Roland Wauer says this food is composed of:
50%	Lepidoptera larva (caterpillars)
29%	Earthworms
7%	Ants
5%	Flies
9%	Beetles, centipedes, millipedes, adult butterflies and moths

Try This! Make a pie chart showing what baby robins eat.

Did You Know?
Just to keep breathing, a robin weighing 55 grams requires 0.34 calories per gram every day, almost ten times as much per gram of body weight as a child! This is because robins have such a high rate of metabolism. Their hearts beat much faster, they breathe faster, and they keep their body temperature at about 106 or 107 degrees.

Credit: Jim Gilbert

If you have a birdbath, water only an inch deep is enough to attract robins. Moving or dripping water also attracts more birds than a quiet birdbath.

Watch as robins dip and splash water in every direction, and see what tremendous splashes they can make! Bird expert Roland Wauer believes that robins will bathe twice a day and will look for any water to bathe in. They'll go for tiny mud puddles, puddles left from watering the lawn, snow water along roadsides, livestock watering tanks on farms, and even rain baths. Where have YOU seen robins bathing?

Robins sometimes take dust baths, too, although these are less common than water baths. Birds in dry areas are likely to take dust baths as a way to maintain their feathers. Frequent dusting helps to keep just the right amount of oil on the feathers. Any extra feather oils are absorbed by the dust and fluffed off along with dry skin. Dusting may also discourage bird lice. Watch for birds taking dust baths.

You might even see a robin take a sunbath on the lawn, crouched on the grass with wings spread, or lying on one side with an uplifted wing so the sun can penetrate the fluffed-out feathers.

• We found a robin’s egg in our yard. Is there anything we can or should do with it?
• What are two reasons why robins fly into windows? What can help prevent the problem and spare the birds from injury or death?
• How can children at play and robins on the nest safely co-exist in your backyard?
  

For these answers and many more, see:

• Frequently Asked Questions about Robins

• Robin Watching and Journaling Suggestions

(ANSWER)
"How many of the fledglings would be alive in November?”
ANSWER: 75% of 200 is 150, so 150 robins would die and 50 would survive.
"How many would be alive the following November?”
ANSWER: 25
"How many would be alive the November after that?”
ANSWER: 12 or 13.
"How many years would it be before all these fledglings had probably died?”
ANSWER: 6 or 7.

In the coming year, Journey North will be fundraising to secure increased support from foundations, corporations and individuals. Your supportive comments will be a tremendous help. Thank you!

Journey North Year End Evaluation Please share your thoughts

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