Is Spring Right Around the Corner?

Photo by Don Fannin

On Christmas Day 2010, NBC 4 viewer Don Fannin snapped this photo of a robin in a tree near the Marblehead Lighthouse on Lake Erie.

"What the heck is a Robin still doing in Ohio?" Don asks.

So we did a little research.

Many robins do fly south for the winter, but not all of them. Females are more likely to migrate than males because they need to make sure they have a good food source all winter that will make them strong enough to migrate and lay eggs in the spring. Males often remain in northern areas to guard their territory.

Journey North, A Global Study of Wildlife Migration and Seasonal Change, funded by Annenberg Media's Learner.org, says robins usually feed on bugs and worms but can switch to fruits and berries when the meaty critters aren't available. As long as the berries are accessible throughout the winter, the birds will hang around. If the food runs out, they'll find a new place.

They grow lots of extra down feathers before the cold weather arrives and they shiver to make their own heat. They'll usually find some shelter from the harshest elements and can survive just fine in extremely cold weather.

More robins will return once the weather begins to warm up in the spring. But you can actually see some of them all year long.

Unfortunately, this particular robin is not an early sign of spring. Spring still starts in 83 days... on March 20th, at 7:21pm EDT.