Our woods are alive with bird chatter as I write. A large flock of robins have dropped in and are hanging out in our woods and they have a lot to say! They forage through the leaf litter, peruse the branches for a rare berry still on the branch, and drink from our birdbath.
A common and wide-spread species, American Robins are flexible migrators. Most migrate—northern Canada is devoid of robins in winter; but some don’t. Birds undertake such a perilous journey not because it turns cold, but because their food source becomes scarce. Robins have been observed in every state (except Hawaii) in January. Many Wild River Auduboners will recall that robins are frequently found on our Christmas Bird Count by open water at Carlos Avery Game Refuge or Wild River State Park along the Deer Creek trail.
Robins that spend the winter change their behavior several ways: they switch their food preference from earthworms and other invertebrates to berries such as junipers, hollies and crabapples. Their territorial tendency breaks down and they form flocks—often large flocks of hundreds to thousands of birds. They also become restless, moving here and there in search of food. Being in a flock increases the chance of finding food—or of spotting a predator.
Migrating robins travel mostly by day, unlike the long-distance migrators like warblers and hummingbirds. They’ve been clocked at 30 to 36 miles per hour, and average about 38 miles a day, though Laura Erickson of Duluth writes they can travel as far as 200 miles in one day. Like other birds, they take advantage of a northwest wind to speed them one their way, flying higher than treetops, but below hawks and other birds that ride the rising thermals.
Because they are nomadic migrants, a robin that spends one winter in Texas might spend his second winter in Florida—and a third in Minnesota, if he doesn’t migrate. How do robins decide whether to stay or go? Researchers are working on that questions, but they do know male robins are more likely than females to stay put.
How can you help migrating robins? Don’t use pesticides on your lawn—this is where robins forage for their food. Don’t be too quick to rake leaves. Invertebrates can find shelter in downed leaves. Keep your cat indoors—weary birds hopping about are less quick to evade a feline. Plant shrubs that bear berries, like mountain ash, crabapples, black chokeberries and June berries. These plants nourish all sorts of birds in summer and fall, and may be a life-saver in November.
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