Myth busted: Waterloo birder says KW robins not sure sign of spring

If you thought spotting a robin was a sure sign of spring, then this information may change your world view.

I saw five of the red-breasted birds while walking on the Mill Race Trail in St. Jacobs over the weekend.

But when I asked local birder Ken Burrell if the early birds were harbingers of spring, he deflated my enthusiasm and said they were not.

"Robins will overwinter in small numbers in the Waterloo Area," he told me. 

"On areas close to water, there's a lot of berries, like buckthorn or multiflora rose, and a lot of birds like robins or waxwings...might be around."

Burrell said the robins that do migrate south in the winter tend to return to the region in mid-March.

"The first time you see a robin on a lawn that has no snow, that's what I would really consider a spring migrant," he said.

This winter, even northern Ontario has retained some robins. Connie Hartviksen, a member of the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists started feeding one and snapped some photos. She also heard from people who sighted robins hanging around Timmins over the Christmas holidays.

So if you see a robin this weekend, just enjoy it for what it is: a robin, not a sign of spring.