Syracuse.com - Wintering robins in Central New York a growing phenomenon

[HuntingNY-News]

Unlike the warmer months, when the males are very territorial, winter robins flock together both day and night.

Robins pick through the leaves recently for food in the backyard of an East Street residence in Skaneteles.

Robert Green photo

When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin’ along, it’s a sure sign spring has arrived — right?

Not really. A growing number of these birds are wintering in Upstate New York.

During the recent warm snap, Robert Green, the former mayor of Skaneateles, spotted a flock of nearly 30 on the ground picking through the leaves for food on East Street in the village.

“I guess we can say they were either late in leaving, or early in returning,” he said. “It was definitely a surprise to see them in January.”

Gerry Smith, former president of Onondaga Audubon, said there’s been a definite increase in the number of wintertime robins locally. He tied it to three factors: global warming, available shelter and the availability of food.

Smith said many of the area’s robins head south, and the ones being spotted now are mostly from Canada; they have stopped here during their migration. “For them, this area is their equivalent of Florida,” he said.

Laura Erickson, who writes for the Cornell Ornithology Lab, noted robins typically feed on earthworms and insects. When winter comes, the majority — particularly the females along with the “wimpy males” — do migrate south. Those that stay, she said, are usually all males. They turn to fruit and berries to get by.

“They eat crab apples, mountain ash berries, white and red cedar berries, buckthorn berries,” she said. “They go from fruit tree to fruit tree, bush to bush in a flock.”

Unlike the warmer months, when the males are very territorial, winter robins flock together both day and night. They mostly stay out of sight, frequenting wetland areas that offer cedar and conifer groves. Sometimes during a warm snap, she said, they’ll come out and scrounge around for worms.

Robins stay clear of birdfeeders. For good reason, Erickson said.

“They lack the proper beaks and gizzards to break down the shells of seeds. That passes right through them and won’t satisfy their hunger,” she said. “As a result, they usually don’t even bother.”

As the days get longer, the male robins either migrate back north, or start breaking off the flock locally and begin laying claim to nesting areas. Staying here for the winter gives them a head start. The chirping robin of spring is a bird that’s announcing to others its territory.

“The better location for building a nest, the better female they’ll get,” Erickson said. “Female robins are more into the real estate than they are into the guy.”

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog