Where do the Robins go in the winter?
The American Robin is migratory. However, they are not “complete” migrants. That is: not all individuals leave their breeding range during non breeding months. In western New York and all around the Great Lakes Region some Robins remain in this region during the cold months. This is dependent upon available food supply. We see fewer Robins in winter because they are less conspicuous. They flock and these groups prefer rural areas, or areas where there are few people, but available food. In spring the Robins are more obvious because they are moving back into more populated areas as the flock breaks up in an activity called breeding dispersal. Robins are not community nesters. Each pair has it’s own territory. This results in the Robins being more obvious to the casual observer because they are spread over a large area. ( Think of marbles. If you have them all together it is easy to hide them all in 1 place. If you scatter them it is much easier to find 1 or 2 but not all) Robins do not
