Not all Robins migrate south. They are considered "partial migrators" because some of them stick around while others move southward for the winter. They are omnivores and consume worms and other insects, but also eat fruit and berries when the worms "migrate" deeper into the soil for winter.

I see a few Robins hanging around my backyard. Of the migrating Robins, the males return north first (as with most birds) and the females show up a couple of weeks later.

Susan

Susan, you're no fun! ;-) My mom, the birdwatcher, told me that robins typically head for the woods, and hang out in quasi-flocks over the winter. Wherever they go, I miss seeing and hearing them during the cold months. It's always such a pleasure when they appear on the lawns in the springtime, patrolling for worms & insects.

farmgardner - you must have prime backyard space to score so many robins in January!

Y'all, Susan is a lot of fun and you can't hold it against her just because she's telling you the truth. LOL I know that we all grew up believing that robins are the first sign of spring, but that's just a myth.

We have them here on our land probably 8 winters out of 10, and sometimes we have relatively small numbers and sometimes we have lots of them. They form very large flocks at times.....hundreds if not more. They go wherever they can find plants that have berries and fruits or seeds that they can eat once the earthworms have migrated deeper in the earth. I like to watch them splash and play in our creek where it apparently doesn't bother them that the water is cold and the air is not much warmer.

How far north can robins survive the winter? They can take a lot of cold as long as they can find food. If they cannot find adequate food, they'll migrate further south until they find a good supply. It is believed that robins essentially fly far enough south most years to reach areas where the average temperature in winter is at least 36 degrees.

I've heard of robins overwintering as far north as Minnesota some years, although I'd be a bit surprised if they are there right now.

You can google and find migration maps of the robins, probably at Journey North, but it is likely that no reports of robin migration have been recorded yet this year.

I enjoy the birds as much as anyone else and I watch them a lot, and I really haven't seen any of them migrating yet.

I did look at the Purple Martin Scout Arrival Map yesterday, and birds are being reported in far south Texas and in parts of southern Florida.

I probably see more robins in winter than other times of the year. Think 3 winters ago a massive flock came through and stripped all the fruit off the trees and shrubs on the property. They ate everything. Mistletoe berries, holly berries, and western soapberry fruit. It reminded me of the Hitchcock flick. :-)

randy

See, CJ, I am fun! Dawn said so! Heehee!

Actually, I haven't seen any Robins for awhile. I see lots and lots of Sparrows, my Cardinal family that never leaves, doves, the #*$(%& grackles! I also have a little Carolina wren.

The Robins actually love to hang out in my back yard, rather than the front. Dawn, I love to see them playing in water, and sometimes I will turn on the sprinkler just to watch them! They use the bird bath, too, but they really love the sprinkler the most.

I read a story the other day where Robins have overwintered in Canada! Whoo - bet their little tail feathers get cold up there!

Susan

Randy,

You know, now that you mentioned it, I probably see them more in winter most years too.

The birds I find most entertaining are the cedar waxwings as they are migrating back north. They seem to love the possumhaw holly berries, which often are fermented after spending the entire winter still on the hollies. I like to watch the cedar waxwings sit on a limb and pass berries from one to another, and I giggle when the tipsy birds start staggering around on the ground.

Susan, I wonder what kind of berries and fruits hang on the trees long enough in Canada for the birds to use them as a food supply?

I always turn on the sprinkler for the birds too, and the hummers are especially fond of playing in the mist.

Dawn

Susan, I agree; you are fun, OK? :) I must be too close to town to have Robins during the winter. Seems like our holly berries are the very last to be gleaned by any bird, so they may be among the ones the birds use during the late winter, even up north.

Speaking of up north. We visited the North Shore of Lake Superior a couple of springs ago, and this area is wilderness of the kind I've never experienced. There were robins there, way out in the woods, and they behaved so differently than 'our' robins. The difference to me was that they were as shy and skittish as any woodland bird, but, here in Tulsa they seem more tolerant of our presence. Those that we encounter close to our house here merely chip at us when we're too close, but those in N Minnesota would flee at the very sight of us. It was as if these birds didn't have the experience of ever having lived close to humans, like they had always been out in the woods, and never encountered humans like us. Do you suppose they could stay in Northern Minnesota (brrrr) all year? It's very beautiful, but very cold, even in spring.

Jumping in from Florida. There has been a flock of robins around for the last three days. A huge flock that every afternoon flies from one tree to another for about an hour. I have watched them each day and they seem to have watchguards that stay in one tree while the others fly. I have never seen robins that are so big and bright orange on their chests. I love watching them but they are scaring my doves and cardinals away from the yard. They aren't used to the big numbers flying overhead. BTW this is the only time of year we see robins, so these must be migrating.

Jumping in from Florida. There has been a flock of robins around for the last three days. A huge flock that every afternoon flies from one tree to another for about an hour. I have watched them each day and they seem to have watchguards that stay in one tree while the others fly. I have never seen robins that are so big and bright orange on their chests. I love watching them but they are scaring my doves and cardinals away from the yard. They aren't used to the big numbers flying overhead. BTW this is the only time of year we see robins, so these must be migrating.