American Robin

19 March 2015 Burlington, ON. The end of winter and approach of spring has birders watching closely. Today the sun rose at 07.26 and set at 19.30; twelve hours and four minutes on the right side of the ledger. The signs of spring in bird life have been evident for a couple of weeks, nothing outlandish just a trickle: small migrating flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles, and Red-tailed Hawks and Turkey Vultures counted at a nearby hawk-watch, and even a few reports of American Woodcocks, Song Sparrows and Killdeers.

On Lake Ontario there are increasing numbers of what we refer to as bay ducks, species that winter on the Great Lakes or along the Atlantic coast and breed above the Arctic Circle. It’s my view (unsubstantiated, and worthy of more research on my part) that at this stage of winter’s decline, these birds are driven to pursue the retreating edges of the ice between their Atlantic refuges and the Arctic.

So I think that right now, as the ice on and around Lakes Ontario and Erie starts to break up, this is the front line of the bay-duck spring migration. It will take a few weeks yet for open water to appear all the way between here and the Hudson Bay lowlands, but they’ll be watching and testing the limits. They must reach their breeding grounds as soon as possible; the early bird gets the best breeding site and the summertime available to raise their young to independence is short enough.

I’ve been watching and feeling this incremental approach of spring. Silently cheering at the sound of singing Northern Cardinals, contentedly noting the flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles overhead and pleased to see the odd funereal Turkey Vulture cruising by.

I started my day at a breakfast meeting in the half-light; but the sun was up when the meeting ended at 8.45. As I walked back to my car I heard, for the first time this year, a singing American Robin. Robins have been out of the public eye for a few months. I haven’t mentioned robins until now partly because although the spring sighting of a robin is the sort of thing that can make a cute seven o’clock news filler, really our robins were never far away, they usually winter in some of the denser woods and ravines around here, unseen by most of us. But a robin in song is another matter altogether, it’s like the sunrise; the first light of daybreak is helpful but the sun‘s first peek over the horizon is the confirmation you need; you don’t get robin song without spring being right on top of us. Today’s American Robin in song was not only Bird of the Day, but perhaps also my Bird of the Spring Equinox.