Here you see a desperate American robin devouring the last of our winterberry fruits – among the bird’s least-preferred foods – as the barometer sinks. This was the day before the “Inaugural Storm” that laid down 3-4 inches of snow and made our cold spell colder.
More robins (and some other species) reportedly have been overwintering in Maine in the past few years as the winters get milder. This may be beginning to strain the availability of suitable foods for all our feathered friends during the cold months.
Robins seem to like crabapples, holly, juniper, and hawthorn best in winter when earthworms and insects are not available, but will eat low-energy foods such as winterberry and burning bush (euonymus), if those are all that’s available.
Unlike in the spring and summer, when robins are very territorial, they often feed in flocks in the winter when they’re more visible to hawks – the herd defense of more eyes and ears and a mathematically less likelihood they’ll be singled out when the predator dives. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on January 19, 2025.)