Winter, IL=Robins?

[Annie]

Well I know this weather is confusing, but Robins in central IL, this time of year???

Took this yesterday, there were several around!

[Chris_W]

Hi Annie,

It shouldn't be surprising. Most Robins don't actually fly south for the winter and stay around all winter long - people just don't tend to notice them that much until the spring thaw. So when people say that spring is here because they are seeing Robins I always get a bit of a chuckle out of it since the Robins never left, they are just starting to notice them again

[Annie]

Well who knew!?
I didn't LOL.

[JaneG]

Chris, you're taking all the fun out of the Spring ritual of seeing the "first" robin, as a harbinger of spring.

Another Myth . . . Busted!!!

[eastwood2007]

Chris, you're taking all the fun out of the Spring ritual of seeing the "first" robin, as a harbinger of spring.

Another Myth . . . Busted!!!

Yeah, really!!!

No, just kidding! I actually noticed a few robins here the other day and was surprised. So I didn't know either that they stay around.

[Linda P]

Here's an interesting page I found about robin migrations. They do migrate, but not all of them leave, and they don't go as far as many of the other birds.
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/robin/ ... ation.html
I know they gather in flocks, I've seen them out in our pasture, where they have access to the neighbor's property which is overgrown with multiflora rose. When my friend and I used to go out to gather rosehips, we would often see really huge flocks of them. Once the rosehips were gone, the robins would be gone also.
I have a lot of fruit-bearing trees and bushes in the yard, and I have seen flocks of them come in January to clean off the crabapples, etc.
Linda P

[nanny_56]

We are seeing lot of robins around this winter. We moved here January 07 which was a harsher January and Feb. and didn't see any here until March. Last year (08) starting seeing them mid-late Febraury, the same time the Blue Birds start popping out of the woodwork. Though they are here year round too.

[caliloo]

Chris, you're taking all the fun out of the Spring ritual of seeing the "first" robin, as a harbinger of spring.

Another Myth . . . Busted!!!

Well shoot!

I was jsut thinking the same thing walkin up to the bus stop to get the kids yesterday... there were a ton of robins around!

Alexa