The first bird song I remember ever hearing was a robin. I was crawling around under the dining room table, as kids do, when I heard a new sound outside. I scrambled to the window to see what it was–a dark bird with a red stomach. A robin, my mother said.
The robin is probably the gateway bird for a lot of people. It’s found throughout Michigan, it’s colorful, easily identified, and has a relatively memorable call.
When robins return is that a sure sign of spring?
Or did they in fact never leave?
It’s complicated.
Some robins do go south for the winter—some travel just a few hundred miles and others fly all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.
But some don’t migrate at all. Instead, they winter close to where they nested and raised their young during the summer.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, an increasing number of robins are choosing not to go south. But the very same robin that doesn’t migrate one year--might migrate the next year.
Cold isn’t the major factor. Their fluffed-up feathers can keep them warm if they can find enough food to keep their internal fires stoked.
When snow covers the ground, fruits on shrubs and trees provide accessible carbohydrates—think serviceberries, sumac, and the berries of invasive honeysuckle—a big favorite with robins.
But, aren’t robins a sign of spring?
The robin’s song is definitely a sign of spring. The males begin singing to attract a mate. A friend asked me why they didn’t sing all winter. I said it would be a waste of calories, since they won’t be mating then.
“Oh,” he said, “like why shower and get dressed up if you’re not even going to the bar?”
