Contributed/Tom Stromme
So, OK! The American robin is perhaps an odd alternative for the fowl of Christmas week. In reality, up to now, it might have been.
But robins have taken a liking to Grand Forks. The variety of robins discovered on this yr’s Christmas Bird Count was 380. That’s 234 greater than have been counted in every other yr.
So, what’s occurring?
Speculatively … after all … the hotter winter has one thing to do with it. Winters have turn into hotter over time, though late December final yr was brutally chilly.
Brutal chilly discourages robins, as a result of it means no readily available liquid for consuming and principally stable berries for choosing. Robins don’t like both of these circumstances, and neither prevailed this week.
It’s unimaginable to know the place these robins got here from. Perhaps they had been all reared inside the depend circle (which is 15 miles throughout). More seemingly, nevertheless (I feel, at the least), robins have converged on Grand Forks as an especially livable metropolis.
This has to do with the planting decisions metropolis companies and businesses and owners have made. Grand Forks has turn into a reasonably densely forested oasis (besides in new areas of city, after all, the place owners are readily planting in methods that can broaden the city oasis).
Many owners have chosen fruit-bearing timber, a should for robins in winter, when their weight-reduction plan turns almost completely to fruit, which they pluck from timber in parks and backyards. Famously, robins eat almost completely worms, augmented with some bugs, in summer season months.
Of course, robins additionally want shelter, they usually wish to be collectively – one other anomaly. In breeding season, robins are visibly testy, able to confront intruders on their territory, together with different robins. In winter, although, robins are likely to cuddle up in flocks, so to talk. Some of those flocks turn into very massive.
That’s what has occurred in Grand Forks.
Robins are usually not alone amongst newsmakers from this yr’s Christmas Bird Count. Count Day was Sunday, Dec. 17. The depend interval prolonged three days both facet of that date and ended Wednesday, Dec. 20, the deadline for this column. As a consequence, I don’t have ultimate numbers of species or of individual birds.
As anticipated, pink crossbills had been quite a few. The unofficial depend complete was 108, in contrast with the earlier excessive depend of 47. Crossbills have been scarce within the final quarter century. They’ve been recorded on solely 4 counts since 1984.
This yr has seen an actual “irruption” of crossbills throughout the area, based mostly on reviews I’ve seen and heard, particularly from the Minnesota facet of the Red River. Red crossbills aren’t resident right here. They’re wanderers, in all probability principally from factors north of our space, however presumably from nesting areas in northeastern Minnesota or conceivably from the Rocky Mountain states.
Crossbills are effectively generally known as wanderers
Canada geese had been plentiful. A complete of 4,051 had been counted, tying the earlier document excessive.
Pine siskins confirmed up in good numbers, too. They had been absent final yr. This yr’s depend was 686, a formidable quantity, however in need of the all-time document of 825.
A complete of 126 cedar waxwings confirmed up. That’s not a document quantity.
There was an surprising sighting: an eared grebe was discovered, a stunning discover so late within the season.
The variety of home sparrows confirmed “further decline!” (The exclamation level equipped by Dave Lambeth, dean of native birders and the depend compiler.)
Lambeth reported a private “rush” (my phrase alternative, not his). A covey of 17 grey partridges flew over his townhome on the town’s southside.
The variety of partridges seen was lower than common. A complete of 74 had been counted. There have been a number of counts with partridge numbers within the vary of 100 to 150 birds.
And then there have been the lacking:
No snowy owls, a third-time miss for this iconic fowl. Historically a reliable winter customer, the snowy owl was absent final yr, too.
No longspurs and no horned larks.
And just one snow bunting.
These counts present an absence of open nation passerines, a shock.
Redpolls had been scarce, too; solely 14 had been reported.
Again, the numbers are supplied by Lambeth, the depend compiler. Thanks for that, Dave, and because of Dave and Cec for the chili feed on the “tally rally” that ended Sunday’s depend.
Jacobs is a retired writer and editor of the Herald. Reach him at [email protected].
