Sighting American Robins is seldom exciting to most, but this winter it
has been exciting for me. I live on Grey Cloud Island in far southwest
Washington County. Where co. rd. #75 on Upper Grey Cloud Island intersects with
Pioneer Road there is a plantation of trees. I observed large numbers of robins
arriving at this plantation to roost for the night. The first evening I started
counting I quit at 900, but the robins continued to arrive from the direction
of the Mississippi River to the west. A week later I got serious and started
observing and counting one hour before sunset until it was quite dark, and I
counted over 2,000 robins. I also went to observe them leaving the roost in the
morning, arriving while still dark. The first robins left when just silhouettes
and within an hour they had all gone, flying off to the west. Coming in at
night the birds first perch in some surrounding deciduous trees and wait till
almost dark before disappearing into the crowded spruce and pine trees. When
the weather improved last week I again counted and there were fewer birds,
which I thought might be the case, but I still counted 1,300 robins coming to
roost. This is by far the most robins I have seen at this time of year, and
some of you will doubt my observations, and that is o.k. If you come to see,
plan on arriving a bit before sunset.
I have not seen many listings of Snow Buntings, so I should have posted
this last Friday (2/26) when I observed about 20 Snow Buntings in Washington
County, within Cottage Grove, on 100th Street N., east of Kimbro Avenue about
1/3 mile.
Tom Bell
Grey Cloud Island
5868 Pioneer Rd. S.
St. Paul Park, MN 55071
651 459-4150
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