Even if you’re not a bird person, the iconic sight of an American Robin with its burnt orange chest should register on your bird radar.
Life is as tough for robins as it is for any bird species, yet they are thriving. Like other wildlife that flourish in this world, adaptability is the robin’s ace.
These ubiquitous birds with their robust bodies and populations seamlessly blend into various landscapes.
“The robin’s greatest virtue is its adaptability to different circumstances ... deep forest, mountain top, suburban lawns, desert areas, I mean they are everywhere,” said Quakertown-based bird expert John DeMarrais.
For 35 years DeMarrais conducted in Hunterdon County a breeding-bird census for the federal government. It required stopping every half mile for 50 times and counting the birds that could be seen and heard.
“You would hear at least several robins at each stop,” said DeMarrais.
And they’re not just in New Jersey. The American Robin and its cheery song can be found in every state except perhaps in Hawaii. Three states — Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin — claim the robin as their state bird.
A largest member of the thrush family, the robin is kin to the Wood Thrush, Eastern Bluebird and Hermit Thrush.
Unlike these relatives, the robin is known for its worm-eating ability.
I’ve always wondered how robins locate worms. A small study done at Queen’s University in Canada isolated visual, auditory, olfactory and vibration sensing methods.
Researchers found that acute hearing is likely what the birds rely on to grab worms moving underground. An earlier study showed sight to be the top sense used as robins cock their heads and dig in, so they may employ sight when they can see food and hearing when they can’t.
Whatever they do, it works. One important point to remember is that robins forage largely on lawns for those worms, making them vulnerable to pesticide poisoning.
At this time of year, robins are dining on a variety of insects and other invertebrates like worms to give themselves and their young plenty of protein. Later in the summer they add fruit as it ripens. In the fall and winter they shift almost exclusively to fruit.
Robin pairs will be busy parenting the whole summer, raising from one to three broods of babies. Often the robin’s blue eggs are destroyed by predators, the young are killed, or a nest may even be flooded.
Robins immediately build a new nest and start in again, another key to their success.
In the fall, some robins will stay to winter in Hunterdon, others will migrate south and still others will journey here from the north.
DeMarrais has noticed that periodically over the last decade or so we’ve had huge numbers of robins winter in Hunterdon County. “One winter we counted a million robins at Spruce Run for our Christmas bird count in an area of 5-10 acres of pine trees,” he said.
The birds dispersed during the day to forage for berries and rejoined the group among the pine trees at night for safety.