Winter Robins

Some mind-blowing info for those of you looking for the first signs of spring… You may see robins in the winter.

Why? Well, not all of them actually left.

(And I’m with you here. I thought all robins migrated south…)

Robins are more easily seen in spring/summer/fall because they are searching for their favorite foods - worms, grubs, spiders, snails, caterpillars, other insects - on our lawns. But they are actually omnivores, and roughtly 60% of their diet is fruit.

Robins that migrate south keep up this balanced diet. But it’s estimated that 10-20% of robins stay put when the weather turns cold.

Come winter, there isn’t much to be found in the way of worms and other creepy crawlies that they like to eat. But there’s dried fruit to be found!

Robins actually flock together and roost in trees that have berries left behind from the summer. Think crabapples, mountain ash, juniper and even those pesky buckthorn bushes.

If you want to attract them to your feeders this winter, try putting out dried mealworms or dried fruit - the one thing they don’t go for is birdseed.

Pair this new knowledge with the picture book Snow Birds by Kirsten Hall. It’s a wonderful rhyming book that introduces birds commonly seen in the winter, what they eat and do, as well as the sounds that they make.