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Notes from the Field

Migration Mystery: Meet our Final Space Robins

Brian and Ruthie here!

Natalie and Willem packed up their bags and flew the coop over the weekend. It was sad to see them go, but we’ve been here until we could find the rest of our space robins. And now we are proud to introduce our final eight space robins!

Robins in the rain

Even though it’s late April and probably feels a lot like spring wherever you are, we woke up to cold wintry mornings the past few days. You might think that rain would dampen our spirits, but we were excited to open our nets because we were hoping the robins wouldn’t want to travel in the rain and wind. Birds can stay warm even in a cold rain because their feathers keep the water off their skin.

As it turns out, a flock settled on our lawn to look for worms! And that’s how we met Birdie Sanders, Twitter, and Skyler. After they were suited up, they flew right back to join their friends!

Skyler is an adult male. His name was chosen by Mr. Lane’s 5th grade class. (photo credit: Ruthie Oliver)
Skyler is an adult male. His name was chosen by Mr. Lane’s 5th grade class. (photo credit: Ruthie Oliver)

 

Twitter is an adult female. Her name was chosen by Mrs. Wagner’s 4th grade class. (photo credit: Ruthie Oliver)
Twitter is an adult female. Her name was chosen by Mrs. Wagner’s 4th grade class. (photo credit: Ruthie Oliver)

 

Birdy Sanders is an adult male. His name was chosen by Mr. Tan’s 5th grade class. (photo credit: Ruthie Oliver)
Birdy Sanders is an adult male. His name was chosen by Mr. Tan’s 5th grade class. (photo credit: Ruthie Oliver)

Tuesday the sun finally broke through the clouds! The warm lawn must have looked like a great place to stop for lunch because we ended up finding our final four space robins out there.

Trooper is an adult male. His name was chosen by Mrs. Caunitz and Mrs. Barsanti’s 4th grade class. (Photo credit: Nicole Krikun)
Trooper is an adult male. His name was chosen by Mrs. Caunitz and Mrs. Barsanti’s 4th grade class. (Photo credit: Nicole Krikun)

 

Flappy is an adult female. Her name was chosen by Ms. Murphy and Mrs. Nadler’s 4th grade class. (Photo credit: Nicole Krikun)
Flappy is an adult female. Her name was chosen by Ms. Murphy and Mrs. Nadler’s 4th grade class. (Photo credit: Nicole Krikun)

 

Hippy is an adult female. Her name was chosen by Ms. O’brien’s 5th grade class. (Photo credit: Nicole Krikun)
Hippy is an adult female. Her name was chosen by Ms. O’brien’s 5th grade class. (Photo credit: Nicole Krikun)

Journey is an adult female. Her name was chosen by Mrs. Sutton’s 4th grade class. (Photo credit: Brian Weeks)
Journey is an adult female. Her name was chosen by Mrs. Sutton’s 4th grade class. (Photo credit: Brian Weeks)

 

And… our final space robin is Sky!

Sky is an adult female. Her name was chosen by Mrs. McFadden and Mrs. Viola’s 4th grade class. (Photo credit: Brian Weeks)
Sky is an adult female. Her name was chosen by Mrs. McFadden and Mrs. Viola’s 4th grade class. (Photo credit: Brian Weeks)

 

We’ve certainly made a lot of new robin friends on this trip, but robins aren’t the only species migrating through the area. Some of our favorites are a Sharp-shinned Hawk (check out those red eyes!), Fox Sparrow, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker! Sharp-shinned Hawks don’t just look fierce, they are real predators. They eat lots of smaller birds, including robins – eek! You can learn more about them here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sharp-shinned_Hawk/id, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Fox_Sparrow/id.

 

We now have 17 space robins flying for us!

Thanks for all your help along the way!

P.S. Chirpie has made a new friend up here at the Boreal Centre. Hope you’ve enjoyed reading the blog as much as they have! (Photo credit: Brian Weeks)
P.S. Chirpie has made a new friend up here at the Boreal Centre. Hope you’ve enjoyed reading the blog as much as they have! (Photo credit: Brian Weeks)