Nature
Notes for December 30, 2016
“Why
are there so many robins around? Don’t they go south in the winter?”
“I
have many robins around my yard. Is there something I can put on my bird feeder
for them? They must be having difficulty finding food in the snow.”
In
the past couple of weeks, I have been asked variations on this theme by a
number of people from all over the area.
Not
all American Robins go south in the winter. There are usually a few found on
the Port Hope-Cobourg Christmas Bird Count, which this year was held on
December 17. The tally of robins on the count was 3,409, almost three times the
previous high of 1,193, counted in 1998. It was not people’s imaginations. They
were everywhere.
An American Robin feeding on some the abundant fruit, such as is available this winter.
photo © Rob Lonsberry Photography
The
most likely explanation for these record high numbers is an abundant fruit
crop. Despite last summer’s drought, many fruit bearing plants had a good crop.
The wild grape especially had a bumper crop. Several trees and shrubs,
including mountain ash, flowering crab trees and European buckthorn also had a lot
of fruit.
When
robins are raising young in the spring and summer, they feed mostly on insects,
earthworms and some snails. However, robins also eat a large variety of fruit.
In addition to the plants mentioned above, they eat juniper berries, chokecherries,
hawthorn, dogwood berries and sumac fruit.
In
the non-breeding season, American Robins gather in large flocks to search out
the fruit supply. They will swoop into a fruit laden mountain ash tree and feed
furiously until the fruit is all gone. They are sometimes joined by other fruit
eating birds such as Cedar Waxwings, European Starlings, Eastern Bluebirds, and
Bohemian Waxwings.
Ground
feeding flocks could be found on the day of the Christmas Count along the sides
of roads where the snow plows had scraped the snow away. The birds were
searching for any insects that might be present, as well as fallen fruit.
They
will survive the cold weather as long as fruit is available to them. A few
years ago, there were many fruit eating species around until a late April ice
storm locked up the fruit for several days. After that date the fruit eaters
were decidedly less common. If they had not had the energy to leave, they
probably died of starvation.
Although
robins do not usually visit bird feeders, they can sometimes be attracted to
dried fruit such as raisins and currents.
Several
other species were counted in recorded numbers on the Christmas Bird Count. European
Starlings posted a record high total of 4076, eclipsing the previous high of
3101, set also in 1998.
Other
species tallied in record high numbers were: Mute Swan – 21 (previous high 10
in 2009); Mourning Dove – 1897 (previous high 1573 in 2012); Red-bellied Woodpecker – 33 (previous high 16 in 2012); Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 4
(previous high 1 several times); Hermit Thrush – 3 (previous high 2, twice); Eastern Towhee – 4 (previous high 2, twice); Fox Sparrow – 10 (previous high 1, twice); Swamp Sparrow – 3 (tied 3 other years); White-throated Sparrow – 58 (previous high 29 in 2005); White-crowned Sparrow – 2 (tied 3
other years).
Even
after 46 years, two species observed were new to the count. Three Tundra Swans
were found in Port Hope Harbour. A Lincoln’s Sparrow was found north of Port
Hope in the company of a Swamp Sparrow.
The
New Year will start off with the last of Northumberland County’s Christmas Bird
Counts, the Rice Lake Plains, on January 1. This count is centred south of
Burnley and includes all of the Northumberland Forest. Who knows what surprises
await observers.
