American Robins doing what they like to do best, drinking and bathing… Unless you're not paying attention to what's going on around you, you
can't help but notice a few robins swooping about Central Oregon these
days. Few can be placed in the 10,000 to 15,000 number, and I think
that's a low count. On the week of this year's Christmas Bird Count
(CBC) there were almost half-a-million of them over in the Pauline/Post
country, east of Prineville.
Where did they come from? is the
most-often asked question when people notice robins flocking to
junipers and pooping all over their cars and porches. I never saw this
many last summer, is the usual comment after the question.
The
answer is that these are not our robins, that is, last summer's robins.
The robins we're seeing and hearing in the junipers and backyards
during winter are down from the Far North , probably from Canada and
Washington, perhaps a few from Alaska and the Northwest Territories.
And they're here for only two reasons: companionship and food. When one
robin finds food, everyone finds food, and food means juniper berries
(and other fruit).
