My Yard's full of Robins

[Tom]

Dec.28th and my yard is full of Robins already.  I like to see them come because they eat a lot of the pests in the yard. While I like the black crickets, I don't care for the mole crickets.  The turkeys and crows are having a hay-day with mole crickets this year.

Are these Robins lost, late or guessing that winter is over? :D

[SwampDonkey]

I dunno about lost or late, but I'm glad they made it. We had robins here till mid november this year feeding on the berries of the mountain ash, choke cherry and high bush cranberry. Now when I go for my walks I see the grouse budding in the alder and birch and feeding on the highbush cranberry fruit along edges. Seen 2 grouse today, and no fresh animal tracks on the woodlot. Had an inch of snow yesterday, so I thought I'de journey out the see if the animals have been around. It was - 5 deg F this am. brrr

[SwampDonkey]

Tom:

When I was in Tampa 20 years ago , at Cypress, I see birds built like robins but they was olive green colored (what I can remember) instead of brown or red breasted. I wondered what kind of bird these were. They seemed to be contented with the grackles (jet black) and I was thinking they where immature grackles. Are immatures lighter than adults? They don't seem to me light colored up this way when flocking up to fly south. Perplexing. Maybe its the great-tailed grackle if there are any over that way. In the sun the wings and tail look greenish.

[Tom]

The only Grackles I've seen are black.  Perhaps you saw Meadow Larks.  The State is loaded with them.

[SwampDonkey]

Its possible Tom, as they are in the same family. I never seen a juvenile's plumage (meadowlark). But, the adult has yellow in them and this looked greenish in the sun. I do recall robins and regular grackles around the grounds though. They were used to the crowds of people and I suppose they were out for a free meal of popcorn that got spilled. It's funny because our grackles would never let you closer than 100 feet to them and once they see ya the whole flock takes to flight in a big whoooosh.

[Jeff]

You think you like it when the Robins arrive Tom, you can imagine how much we like to see them come!  Seeing the first Robin is our wide spread indicator that the long winter is over, or at least almost over.

[SwampDonkey]

Jeff:

They seem to be on the first bare patch of ground and they begin nesting in April here and have uo to 3 broods depending on the year (weather) and food. Also, the killdeer are early arrivals witht he sound of killdeer...killdeer...killdeer...killdeer  in the air. When we farmed the fields in springtime we would go around their nests or lift the planter off the ground as we passed over their nests. The younf left the nest long before we sprayed for bugs, but I'm sure the bug spray took it's tole on'm.  :-/

[SwampDonkey]

Facts

I tried to get a good sound file, but all I found was crapola.

[Jeff]

Here are some.
http://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound/spec/spec60-36.html

[Tom]

I sent him this link on IM but this looks like more fun ;D

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/ornithology/sounds.htm

[SwampDonkey]

Thanks guys for the links, but unfortunately most sounds I find on the internet never contain their signature songs.

The killdeer says his name

Killdeer here

The bobolink sounds like R2D2, but can't find the sound file, until now!

bobolink song here

Here's the main enature bird song page

cheers

[Corley5]

I've heard from several different avid rabbit hunters that they see robins through out the winter in some of our denser swamps.  One of them whose backyard is a cedar swamp has them come to his bird feeder where they eat raisins.  The raisin eating part I had confirmed by one of our DNR bird specialists and a biology teacher I had in college.  They say these year round robins have a much redder breast than the migratory ones.  I've never seen a robin much past October around here.

[SwampDonkey]

Corley:

Occassionally they are sited here in mild winters as well. I know they will winter in southern Ontario, Saint John's New foundland and in southern Nova Scotia. They probably like those Sunrise raisins better than wild raisin or highbush cranberry.

[Jeff]

I have been looking for this photo for several days!  I think it was winter before last I took this out my front window. This is the crab tree you have seen in photos before, right in front of my front door.

If anybody would like one, I have a big version of this I used for my wall paper for quirte some time.

I am looking for another bird photo I took the same day, funny it aint where this on e was. :-/

[Jeff]

found it!

[SwampDonkey]

Burr they look cold Jeff. That crab tree is really full of fruit. Would definately make a nice picture. I also have a crabbe tree on the lawn and the robins move in on it when returning from the south. On rare occasion we used to get juvenile cardinals in winter on the bird feeder. Cardinals are actually out of their range here and so we don't see them often. I don't feed the birds any longer but I have lotsa robins, pine grosbeaks, waxwings, finches, red poles, chickadees, red eyed vero and nuthatches all around in the trees.