When will We See Our First Robins?

To so many people, a sure sign of spring is sighting the first robin.

The owner of a business that I friended on Facebook (and I highly recommend them if you like B&B's and are visiting the Americus, GA area) posted yesterday that she had seen her first robin.  (she posted a picture, too.)

Granted, Americus gets spring weather....oh, at least 6 weeks (probably more) before we do.  But this is January.  Does this mean an early spring?

After some research, I would say....probably not.

I was delighted to find a number of websites devoted to robin migration.  While some birds migrate driven by day length, for robins it seems to be a complicated combination of average temperature and availability of food.  And one thing the east coast has been lacking....record breaking lacking...is snow.

Not only that, some robins don't migrate.  They tough out the northern winter.  I never knew this.  I don't think I've ever seen a winter robin. But in this strangest of all winter years, who knows.

Just the thought of robins makes me long for spring.

One thing I love about spring is the birdsong. At this time of year bird song is almost totally lacking.  Just the thought of early robins is enough to get my spring-loving heart pounding.  After all, an integral part of the frenzied dawn concerts our feathered friends provide in the spring is the song of the robin - many times starting the concert off before dawn.

It makes me want to count the days before I hear the concert for the first time.

Has anyone else seen robins this winter?