Kathleen Mack, Texas Master Naturalist
A friend recently posted on Facebook that she had seen a flock of robins in her yard. “Doesn’t that mean it will soon be spring?” she asked. Unfortunately, the answer is no. Even though the American Robin has long been associated with spring, a sighting of them in the dead of winter is not that unusual. This is especially true in Texas where many robins stay year-round.
The American Robin (Turdus Migratorius) is well known. It is hard to miss this beautiful red-breasted species. This robin is actually the largest of the thrushes. It is one of the most abundant land birds in North America.
Photo by Jack Dunaway, Indian Trail Master Naturalist
It has been heralded in poems and songs, and its blue eggs even have a color named for them. English settlers named this bird because it reminded them of the Robin Red Breast, which is common throughout Europe. The European bird is actually a member of the flycatcher family.
Many robins navigate to warmer climates as food becomes scarce in the winter, but it is not unusual for American Robins to winter in their breeding ground. Robins are more than capable of staying warm. They flock together and use body fat for heat. If provided a heated birdbath, they will visit when their usual water supply is not available.
You probably won’t see robins at your feeder. Their diet normally consists of invertebrates (such as beetles, grubs, earthworms, and caterpillars), fruits and berries. During winter they travel around large areas to forage for food, surviving mostly on berries.
Robins are among the first birds to breed. Migrating robins will begin to appear in late February or early March. While robins winter throughout Texas, they breed primarily in the northern and eastern portions of the state.
Males are the first to arrive at the breeding ground, and once there will begin singing.
Their song is highly recognizable. It is a bold gurgling, leisurely singsong, cheerily cheer-up cheerio, with phrases often repeated. The song period is from early March in California to late July or early August elsewhere. Some birds, particularly in the East, sing occasionally into September or later. The American Robin is often among the first songbirds singing as dawn rises, and the last as evening sets in. It usually sings from a high perch in a tree.
So, to answer my Facebook friend’s question, it is not the sighting of robins that proclaims spring, but their song.
Do you think nature should be part of our everyday life, not just somewhere to go on the weekends? You are invited to attend our free, open-to-the-public, monthly program on the fourth Monday of the month at 7 pm at the First United Methodist Church, 505 W. Marvin Ave., Waxahachie, Texas 75165. For more information on the Indian Trail Master Naturalist Chapter, contact the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service at 972-825-5175 or visit our website: http://txmn.org/indiantrail/.