The American Robin is often associated with spring, its appearance generally regarded as the classic “first sign of spring” in the garden – especially when it’s spotted hopping along in search of earthworms. Warmer days are surely near when robins begin to migrate north. But did you know that many robins are year-round residents, calling Northeast Ohio home all winter long?
Turdus migratorius
Meet the American Robin
what do they eat?
winter food for robins
So how can these early birds get their worms when the ground is frozen and covered with snow? The answer is: fruit! Robins do enjoy earthworms, caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles, slugs, and spiders, but when these creatures are asleep for the winter, robins turn to fruits and berries for about 60% of their winter diet.
There are many wild sources of fruit to be found in the woods from sumac, mountain ash, and hackberry. But remember, you can also plant beautiful landscape trees and shrubs that will prolifically produce berries to feed robins through the winter!
suet and seed
If you have hopper, tube, or other feeders, and fill them with sunflower kernels or peanut pieces this winter, robins will gladly clean up the ground under the feeder for you, picking up the stray pieces tossed by other birds. Robins also love suet, offered in suet cake feeders, which has plenty of calories to keep them warm through the long winter nights. Robins are not built for clinging to the side of a bird feeder, but when the crumbs on the ground are all gone, they will do their best to grab a bite or two directly from the feeder, madly beating their wings!