This chilly, windy morning, as I was walking my dog, I was surprised to see a large flock of robins fluttering all around the Spring Street Parking Lot.
Are they lost? Or did they miss the southbound AMTRAK?
(According to the Quebec based bird welfare organization Le Nichior, the proper collective noun for robins is
a “worm”.
Little birdie
I saw some geese flying south the other day.
I’ve also walked by some bushes and heard loud parties of little birds inside, keeping warm and seeming to be rather conversational.
Facultative Migration
Amateur bird nerd checking in here – while we have seen some pretty bizarre things this year, the robins are not alarming to me. They individually choose whether or not to migrate, I believe the term to describe them is “facultative migrants.”
Robins have choice. The ones you saw (and the ones I saw yesterday) have chosen to stick around or came from the north but did not feel it was necessary to go further south, at least not yet.
Robins are very interesting, extremely flexible and adaptable. In some areas, I have read, they have adapted to singing their mating songs at night because they can’t be heard over the noise of the cities.
Remarkable creatures I think many of us take for granted.
Facultative
Good to know. Thanks!
It’s all about choices… : )