I'm not sure which part of Zone 7 that you live in, but we have had Robins here in east Tennessee for a about three weeks now. At a local wildlife refuge here I noted 5,000 or better late one afternoon! That was on 2/4

Bob

bhowdy, I don't live too far from you. I'm in the north-western part of VA. Maybe I haven't really paid that much attention to when they actually do get here. I thought they arrived later than February.

Awesome Donna! I wait to see and hear them here in PA!

I just saw my first robin of the year drinking from the heated bath. I live in east-central Iowa.

I saw my first robin the other day and I'm in Ohio, I thought this meant spring is around the corner but DH says they're here all year. If anyone would like to chime and tell me who's right let me know :)

of course it depends on where you live and what kind of habitat you have where you live, but many robins simply congregate and head into deeper, more protected wooded areas to weather the winter. I am in southern Illinois and have flocks of them year round. On the harshest of winter days they can be spotted back in the bottoms and brushy areas trying to find something to keep them going. Not all of them stay around, but the ones that do are simply not as easily visible as when they are bopping about on the lawns of spring.
Of course, I hate to spoil the good vibes others get when they think they see the spring's first robin, but chances are fair that that bird's been around since the fall.

I saw a small flock here in South Jersey on Friday. They were pecking on the ground. That's the first I've seen this year.

dirtgirl is right...

My Iowa birds book says,

"Small percentage will not migrate, but spend the winter in low swampy areas where they search for leftover berries and insect eggs."

Still, we never see any robins here in the city during the heart of winter(it gets brutally cold) so it's always nice to see the first of the year.

Hi all,

A few robins stay in Quebec each winter. But the first real wave of migrants arrive during the first week of april. A second wave about 2 weeks later.

Luc

I had dozens of Robins in my NW Iowa yard today. Haven't seen a single one since fall, so I really think these are migrating ones. Seems too early, but very exciting!

I just came in to research what to feed these early arriving Robins and see that I am not the only one seeing them around earlier than usual.
I am in Northern NJ, up in the mountains and it is still very cold here and I know there are no worms about.
Does anyone have any ideas what they may eat. Certain kind of seed?
There must be a flock of at least 100 milling about.
While its wonderful to hear them and think that spring is right around the corner, I still worry that it is too cold for them to find food. Any suggestions are appreciated!

They eat peanut butter/lard suite mixture, berries and small fruit on local trees. I had one that decided left over spegitti looked like worms and was happily chomping away. If you do a lot of bird watching then you will see them frequently all winter long.

wow...alot of people posted about these robins! I didn't expect to see so many. I didn't know that some robins stay behind. As much time as I spend in my kitchen near the window, I never see robins during the cold months. Now, bluejays, I've seen all this winter, but that's another bird:) It's easy to tell a robin by the way it hops across the yard, and you never see just one by itself (at least I don't). dirtgirl, I do have a wooded area behind my house, so maybe that is where they are staying during the winter.

This morning I saw something I've never seen before in my life... a flock of robins. I live in a suburban area and, while we certainly get robins here each spring/summer, I've never seen more than two or three in the yard at once. It was pretty neat to look out the back window and see about 30 of them. There were some starlings, too, so they may be flying north together.

hawkeye, that's exactly what I saw. Dozens and dozens of birds here one morning, and gone by the time I got home from work. I didn't know what other bird was with the Robins, but I bet they were starlings too! Was quite a sight. :)

I saw 3 Robins yesterday(north central IL)for the first of the year. I noticed back in Jan we had a Robin winter over at my work location. It roosted in a large aborvitae next to our conference room window.

I've never seen a Robin here in Western PA in the winter, but they could be in hiding, lol! I can't wait to see them in my yard. I will post the sighting here after I call my Mum, (an annual ritual we have, the first one to spot them calls. They are such a welcome sight around here b/c it lets us know that the COLD/snowy weahter is pretty much behind us.

We have robins here in CA pretty much all year in flocks and single. A few weeks ago I had a flock of robins and cedar waxwings stripping all the berries off a nearby tree.

A look alike to the robin that I love is the Rufous Towhee. I've yet to capture a pic but this might be the year. I have a Birdjam bird sound gadget and I'm trying to draw in Towhees close enough to photograph w/ my kodak z712. sue in ca

I had another flock of robins come through this morning. They must have been quite thirsty because they were lined up to get a spot on the rim of my heated bath.

THEY'RE HERE!!!!! I saw my first Robin! I almost forgot how beautiful they are! Now if we can just get out of this deep freeze, it was 1* degree here this morning with windchill at -18* - no wonder the Robins leave!

I saw my first one this morning. Just one, but it always lifts the spirits. So far, the grackles, redwings, cowbirds, turkey vultures, and now robins have all made their way back to North Central Ohio. I know for certain that robins stay in Southern Ohio year round. There may be some that do stay here and stay to the woods; somewhere that is a better foodsource. I know my bluebirds stay in the area all winter, but they don't hang out here. They are close enough to make an appearence a couple of times in the winter, but stay back in the woods I'm guessing. Somewhere with a foodsource and shelter....

ohbluebird, I've only seen a bluebird 2 times in my area, and I've lived here 24 years. I'm not saying there hasn't been more, just that I've only seen them twice. How do you attract them?

I saw two fat Robins today in my front yard
In NE Texas

donnas, put up some nestboxes if you are wanting to attract bluebirds. There are some wonderful sites to go and learn all about bluebirds. This forum has a bluebird section where the folks are very knowledgable and can answer any questions that you have. I learned a lot from them when I first started bluebirding 14 years ago. You want to make sure that your nestboxes are the right dimensions, mounted on a pole with a baffle to protect the bluebirds and young from racoons. I started with 2 boxes and now am up to 14! I have a lot of room for them out here in the country! And I get more treeswallows than bluebirds. But you don't have to be in the country to attract them! My father in law had a box in his backyard smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood and that box always had a pair of bluebirds in it. Once they find you and raise some babies they will likely come back for years. Nestboxes that's the key.

The robin I saw was really fat too minnie! Wherever they spent the winter they sure were eating well!
I told a friend yesterday that I saw my first robin of the year yesterday - you could just hear her spirits lift in her voice. Something about them being back just gives us hope that the long cold winter is at least getting close to be over. A light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. Last year I think I about cried of happiness when my treeswallows returned!

I saw a flock of robins Thursday. Heard them in evening also. Gone now