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Jan 26, 2009 10:52 pm US/Central
Good Question: Why Aren't Robins Migrating South?
(WCCO)
It's the bird most commonly associated with the arrival of spring. So why are we seeing robins in Minnesota trees and birdbaths in subzero January?
"Why didn't they fly south," asked Gail Savoie, a St. Paul bird-lover who says she sees more than a dozen robins every day in her backyard. "Oh there's so many of them it's unbelievable. It's hard to keep the deck clean."
Savoie isn't alone with her Good Questions with more than two dozen WCCO viewers sent in the same question about the winter robins.
"Why are they coming, why didn't they go south, what are they eating?" asked Savoie.
"Yes, we get the question all the time," said Jennifer Menken, wildlife expert at Bell Museum of Natural History on the campus of University of Minnesota.
In fact, Menken said she sees robins roosting all day outside the window of a third-floor cafeteria.
"I counted, I think, 37 in the tree this morning," said Menken.
According to Menken, robins are short distance migrants. So they only go as far south as they need to. Typically they migrate a couple hundred miles, and sometimes they don't migrate at all.
"Most people think that animals migrate, like birds migrate, because of the temperature. They think it gets cold and therefore, they want to leave. Well, usually our animals migrate because of food or water," she said.
The task of migrating is not an easy one, and if robins can find food close to home they tend not to waste the energy traveling.
Robins eat worms and insects in the spring and fall, but the switch to a vegetarian diet in the winter.
"They are eating mostly dried fruit. Serviceberry, crab apples, grapes, anything hanging on a tree they're eating," said Menken.
So is that whole idea that the robin is the first sign of spring a myth? Partially, said Menken.
Robins are among the first types of birds to return after migrating. However, more and more are just hanging around in the winter.
Why don't they freeze in the subzero weather?
"Birds are inherently very warm. Their body temperature is usually over 100 degrees," said Menken.
At night, they'll roost in sheltered areas, and they'll fluff their feathers to create even more body heat, she added.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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