One spring afternoon many decades ago when we were building Radiance a huge flock of robins came through. I heard a ridiculous racket of peeping and chirping coming from them from the creek in the area east of Royal Way. So I wandered down to find out just what was up.
Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them were in the trees and on the ground in the area. The creek was flowing from the spring rains, and they were literally lined up to take a drink. One would drink, hop or fly out of the way, and one which had been waiting directly behind it would hop forward and do the same. One after another after another. This was happening all up and down the section of creek I could see – anywhere that they had good access from the bank to the water. I don’t know how long it took them, but I watched them for 15-20 minutes if I recall and there was a continuous flow of birds to the water’s edge the whole time. They had obviously been at it for a while before I got there. They were still at it when I hiked back up the hill to resume work.
After reports from several of our neighbors regarding a giant flock of robins in Radiance in mid January 2019 I posted the above story to Radiance-Talk.
Massive Robin Flocks in Austin
The past few weeks we’ve received many calls about large numbers of reddish hued birds flying around the eastern and north eastern parts of Austin. Some flocks consist of 10,000+ birds. You are likely seeing the American Robin. A popular bird, the American Robin can be been found year round, in most parts of the country. They enjoy both wild and developed environments. Many migrate, while some remain as permanent residents. Austin’s American Robins tend to be nomadic, and many move around the country in a roughly counterclockwise pattern. They’ll likely move east and then north from here and wind up back up north for nesting. While they are here, they move to and from roost and forage morning and evening, so it is not unusual to see movement in the same direction. The weather has been beastly up north, so perhaps this is pushing the greater numbers of Robins to our area. They’ll start to move north in a few weeks with declining numbers in March. A few will remain in the area throughout the summer.