March is the month of peak robin migration. We're off to a slow start with reports of robins still concentrated across the mid continent. Wave reports continue to outnumber those of robin song and first-seen robins.
An Exceptional Winter
Are there more robins this year? Or has the extreme and prolonged cold pushed further south the robins that would normally remain in the north? We can't know for sure but it’s been a long, harsh winter across much of North America. Robins are around all winter, but usually in wooded areas. Seeing huge waves of hungry robins may give the impression that robins are more numerous this year. Widespread snow cover is sending robins in search of bare ground, which can be more available in urban areas where it tends to be warmer. Robins cluster at bare spots, foraging for food where more observers can report them. Will we see a huge northward push once temps warm up and the robins' spring menu of worms becomes available? Your sighting reports will tell the story of spring migration after an exceptional winter!
- "Many waves all winter, but the first song of love started yesterday. Low 30, High 55 and sunny. Worms are up. " Crystal S., Brinnon, Washington (February 28, 2014)
Change is in the air and robins are about to spread across the map. By mid-March, the robin chorus
normally extends for miles. Get ready to listen for the surest sign that your male robins have indeed returned to claim territory, find mates and begin nesting: