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DEAR JOAN: I wanted to share a wonderful experience I had today. It was overcast and cool, and the normal assortment of birds were all out in force — chickadees, juncos, gold finch, purple finch, sparrow — and that led me to stand quietly in my backyard.
To my great delight, I was witness, for the second time in two years, to the robins’ migration.
First I heard a few robins singing and then I realized there were dozens and dozens of them, flitting from tree to tree, singing as they passed overhead or stopped for a brief rest. I was surrounded.
What a wonderful way to acknowledge spring is on the way. I never expected to have the great fortune to experience this again in my own backyard. The timing is brief, so it’s pure luck to catch this happening.
Several years ago, I was lucky to witness a flock of cedar waxwings passing through but their numbers were far smaller and their stop was fleeting. I was very lucky to catch a glimpse. I hope I am out and about when they undoubtedly pass through the area again.
Priscilla Walker, Livermore
DEAR PRISCILLA: Seeing a large flock of the supposed harbingers of spring is indeed awe inspiring, but the robins you saw weren’t migrating, at least not in the traditional sense.
Robins are migratory birds, but very few of them actually go anywhere. Even on the frigid East Coast, many robins stick around, eating fruits and berries. In our neck of the woods, we have robins all year long. We just don’t always notice them.
The robins do migrate, in a sense, traveling in flocks to areas where there is food. Flocks are an efficient way to search for food that is more scarce in the winter, and can provide extra warmth when they roost at night.
In the Bay Area, it’s typical to see a large flock of robins, like the cedar waxwings, descend on an area where there are ripe berries or stores of fruit. The rains also can bring flocks into your neighborhood as the water brings worms closer to the surface where the robins can grab them.
As we move into spring and the mating season, the flocks break up and the fight for territory can become fierce.
It was still a fabulous sight for you to see. Congratulations.
DEAR JOAN: I have two hummingbird feeders up, which are quite active. I make my own sugar water using 1 cup sugar to 4 cups water. I thoroughly clean the feeders each time before I refill them.
My question is about the sugar. There are so many types of sugar now. What types of sugar should I not use?
Regular organic sugar has a slight brown tinge to it. Will that affect the attraction or taste? What about coconut sugar? What about using powdered sugar? I’m asking because I rarely used refined white sugar but have several other types on hand.
I will use whichever you suggest, even if it means trying to remember white sugar when I go to the market.
Angela Keres, Bay Area
DEAR ANGELA: The Hummingbird Society says we should use only refined white sugar, nothing else.
Brown and brownish sugars contain trace amounts of molasses, giving them their color. Molasses is a great source of iron, which is good for humans but deadly to hummingbirds.
