Comments on: American Robins: Holy Springtime, Batman!

By: Hanna

Hanna — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:46:44 +0000

Neil Pedersen – Thanks for stopping by! I suppose the lose of robins is the price of warm weather. *sigh* I think I might be able to leave behind robins for warm weather.

Leslie – They are “gettin’ busy” with those three broods.

Melanie – That must be a lovely sight to see.

Amy – I am glad someone got that joke.

Holly – Isn’t it great to hear it in the morning!

Jean Ann – Isn’t it sad? I hope more people learn about this.

Valerie – I read that they mostly eat worms in the morning. So maybe you could watch in the afternoon and you don’t have to see the massacre.

Rick Anderson – I may have just missed them, being out of town and all, so I could believe you have seen them. Damn deer never leave.

gus – I will have to watch for that bird. Isn’t it sad that so many birds suffer from this?

Margo – I agree. Lawns should be for using, not chemicals.

Faith – Actually, there is supposedly a surplus of worms (http://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/2007/03/worm-crisis-solution-is-to-make-them.html) so robins do what robins do for the best. But it is a bonus that they eat those grub.

chey – Thanks for stopping by!

By: chey

chey — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:05:09 +0000

I really like your style of writing, and enjoyed your post very much! I had recently learned that the robin is not actually a sign of spring, but had never considered the effects of lawn treatments on their food supply. I’ll have to let my neighbours know…they use the Weedman. Thanks!

By: Faith

Faith — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:21:48 +0000

Robins eating worms doesn’t sound so good for the garden, though I doubt they deplete the earthworm population. What does sound go is that they also eat grubs, which the grubs may not like, but I think it’s good.

By: Margo

Margo — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 02:15:38 +0000

I’m still laughing about your suggestion to scream at the ChemLawn guy and freak him out. That’s great! Seriously though I never understood the need for a lawn; I grew up in a backyard that was one immense maple tree and the rest of it garden. All those lawns in suburbia and I’ve never seen anyone sitting out on their lawn! (If you’re not even going to use it, why not just roll out the astroturf and be done, right?) Poor robins.

By: gus

gus — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 12:50:51 +0000

I have two comments on this post: 1)I read, some time back, that robins can be fooled by early warm weather. The true harbinger of spring is the Red Winged Blackbird. When they show up the truly cold weather should be gone.
2)On a more serious note, regarding the lawn chemicals, we had a Nile Virus scare a few years ago. Of most concern were the scores of dead crows. After many were sent to the state lab for testing, most were found to die from lawn chemicals. People need to stop worrying about having a perfect lawn. We all should be concerned about the consequences of our actions, and don’t get me started about Terrorism and gasoline!