Robin in the Rain!

Ranked #893 in Pets & Animals, #24,432 overall

Robins are a Sign of Spring!

It's springtime and one of the most popular signs of spring is the robin. Robins, with their cheery tweets and bright red breasts stand out against the disappearing snow.

Cheerio, calls the robin as the rain starts to fall.

Robin in the Rain! is a unit study of robins that will get kids reading and writing, adding and investigating robins. Make up a robin dance or recite a robin poem. Put on your robin wings and fly on the wings of learning...


Photo Credit: Robin in the Rain
on Flickr, Creative Commons

Robins outside my Window

Robins Herald the Spring

The Kindly Robin, Victorian Christmas Card

The Kindly Robin, Victorian Christmas Card
Castell Brothers
Buy at AllPosters.com



Growing up in Vermont, the winters were long and cold. The days were dark and it seemed that spring would never come, but one day you would hear a dripping sound outside your bedroom window. The sun would rise a little earlier than the day before. The delicious aroma of wet mud would waft through the air as you opened the door and there on the lawn you would see the first robin of spring.

What a welcome site the robin is! It hops around the yard with it's head cocked to the side listening for earthworms. Then it hops and listens again.

Soon another robin flies in and if you look around you find more robins in the back yard. One robin pulls up a fat, juicy earthworm which stretches and stretches so long that you think it might break. The robin flies with the worm in it's mouth up onto a fencepost to gobble it down and then starts advertising for a mate.

Cheerio! Cheerio!, he calls. You wonder which robin will respond.

Robins are Better than Pets...

Just look outside your window for hours of entertainment

R is for Robin
R is for Robin
Buy This Allposters.com



Robins are relatively large birds that are easy to recognize. They have brown feathers on their backs and wings, darker heads and a very distinctive red breast.

There is no need to feed the robins. Robins eat worms and insects that are found in open areas such as lawns and fields so they spend most of their time in spots that are easy for you to observe.

We have a table with a couple of chairs near a window that looks out over the lawn and field. We keep binoculars, a digital camera, a clipboard with paper and recording sheets, and a bird guide there for whenever anyone spots a robin. Children love to record the number of robins they see. Each day we tally the number and add the count to our Bird Count Graph.

Counting Robins and Sparrows

Bird Count Graph

Robin in the Rain Tally Chart

Photo Credit: Bird Count on Flickr, Creative Commons.
Photo Credit: Sparrow on Flickr, Creative Commons.
Photo Credit: Robin on Flickr, Creative Commons.



Children love to record the number of robins they see. Each day we tally the number and add the count to our Bird Count Graph. At the end of the month, will we have seen more robins or sparrows?

Do you enjoy bird watching?

Do you look for Robins in the Spring?

Robin

Robin
De La Morinerie
Available at AllPoster



Each spring I try to learn something new. One year I discovered a robin's nest in the rafters above the woodpile.

By sitting there quietly we could listen to the baby birds calling to their parents to feed them. We noticed that the baby birds became quiet when the parents flew away.

Baby Robins

Photo Credit: Nest of Baby Robins
on Flickr, Creative Commons


We are guessing that they are staying quiet so that predators don't find them. When the parents are near again the babies begin to call for food again.

We are hoping to observe more nesting robins this year to see if they communicate in the same way.

Have you made any original observations about robins yet?

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Yes, I noticed...

christine616 says:

Nice lens! I just finished my "staycation" lens about my backyard baby robins. =)

JoyfulReviewer says:

I don't remember when I saw my first robin this spring. It's now early November and I've recently seen a few in my yard.

Mollysue says:

I have had a robin coming into my garden for the past two winters. He got used to me being around and would eat food from my hand. I'm waiting to see if he will come back to me again this year!

gregoryolney says:

This bird is of course the North American Robin. In England we have a robin which is a smaller bird and which does not migrate.

windygig says:

i have a nest right on my porch at the moment with two blue eggs in it.

Evelyn_Saenz says:

I just heard the first robins of spring!

dustytoes says:

Last year a Robin's nest blew out of the tree outback and I felt so bad for the momma & dad with the broken eggs on the ground, but they went on and built another nest in another tree. What can you do? Life goes on.

sheilamarie says:

Once we found a robin's nest in the back tire of our tractor. It had three little blue eggs inside.

wilddove6 says:

I am volunteering for a Breeding Bird Atlas in my area for the next five years.
This year's best "find" for a nest was a tree snag with a hollowed out hole.
As I walked by the hole, I noticed moss lining the inside. It was fresh.
On further inspection I saw a constructed cup nest surrounded by a carpet of fresh moss. When I looked closer...three blue Robin's eggs!
I had no idea robins would choose to build a nest in an existing tree cavity...let alone "decorate" the perimeter with soft moss.
I have never seen this before, and it was truly a work of art!

MiaBellezza says:

I have resident robins return each spring and it's entertaining to watch them chase off other birds and squirrels when the nest is threatened. They never chase me off when I go near the nest, but they have dive bombed my husband's head a few times! I scare off predators for them when it comes to my attention, but unfortunately the robins often need to lay a second nest, as the first always seems to get eaten.

jwooten80 says:

I live in Georgia, and we have TONS of robins here! They are so pretty and proud as they sit in the branches of the trees near our porch. I have also noticed that they have a very unusual call, and that they are much larger than I thought when I was a child.

BigGirlBlue says:

We had a pair set up a nest on the windowsill of my office. It was extremely informative to watch it go from nothing to a built up abode. I had no idea the work involved. It's cute how they stomp and flick their feet to move the material in place.

CleanerLife says:

Just a few days ago I saw one gathering fresh cut grass in my dad's back yard after he had done some trimming of an overgrown area. There were leaves from last Fall, vines and brambles mixed in, so the robin was picking through it to get the grass.

RickBasset says:

It has been a banner year for Robins in our area this Spring! We actually had a school ground covered in Robins.We lost count, but there was over 100 robins in one place! We have never had that before!

Great lens! Definitely Purple Star deserving!
Peace
Rick

Susan52 says:

Once, years ago, I discovered that one parent robin is all it takes to keep a large golden retriever away from her scared baby robin who was trying to learn to fly but accidentally landed behind the air conditioning unit, on the ground. Yes, the story had a happy ending, but that was one very active, very noisy robin that kept Maggie away from that baby bird!

JJNW says:

Today we saw a Robin eating seeds or bugs off a puffy white dandy-lion. My son found it quite amusing!!

Mortira says:

Although our neighborhood is full of creatures and birds - even pheasants - we only see robins on those special days when it stops raining and the temperature goes back up quickly. Then we see them searching for worms.

No, not yet, but I'm still looking...

glacier4 says:

I grew up in Montana and we loved it when we saw our first Robin. I now live in the LA area and I can't remember ever seeing a robin. I'll have to really pay attention this year!

KatherineWakefield says:

i love to see Robins in the garden, great lens!

nancycarol says:

No, but I love to see them when they begin their foraging for worms.

67Shelbygal says:

No, I just always knew spring and sunshine was right around the corner when the Robins started coming out.

skiesgreen says:

No, we get the little blue breasted wrens and native aussie birds in spring. I would love to see a robin though

CoolFoto says:

I saw robins when I lived up North, but I've been in Florida 15 years and no robins.

seegreen says:

No but I've been watching the storks that nest on the church roof downtown.

jaye3000 says:

No great observations, but they're all over my yard. Happy to have them, I do enjoy watching birds :)

Wysiwigs says:

I love to watch the birds; we have several that come back to our house every year to nest. No robins yet though!

 

String for the Robins

Help the Robins Build their Nest

Bird Nest with Eggs

Bird Nest with Eggs
Blair, James P.
Available at Allposters



Spring is nesting time for the robins and you can help. Leave natural fibers and string on branches or grass. When you clean your hairbrush, leave the hair out for the birds as well.

Then back off and observe closely. You may see a bird fly off with your offering. If you follow his path you might even discover where he is building the nest.

Be sure to stay quite a ways away from the nest sight of the robins will abandon it and start a new one. They need to be sure that the baby birds will be safe from predators and they see you as a threat.
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Robins look for small bits of string to build their nests.

Observing Robin Nests

Robin Redbreast

Photo Credit: European Robin
on Flickr, Creative Commons.


Put out organic materials and watch to see if the robins pick them up to use when building their nests. Whenever you cut your hair, remember that birds like to use hair in their nests as well.

Hair

3 points

Dog Fur

I brush the dog outside and they will almost always collect it.3 points

Cotton string

1 point

Plastic drinking straws

Not recommended, but even robins help clean up after litterbugs. That was a colorful nest!1 point

Yarn

I save my bits of yarn from finished knit & crochet projects and place them in different places around my bird feeders.1 point

Dried out grass left over fall and winter makes great nesting material.

1 point

Making a Nesting Bag for the Robins

What is a Nesting Bag?

N is a Robin's Nest
N is a Robin's Nest
Available on Allposters


When the robins come back in the spring it can be fun to leave nesting materials out in the yard near your bird feeder. Robins search for nesting materials on the ground. Watch when a robin picks up a string or some hair that you have left out. Watch where the robin flies and later you might be able to find its nest.

Remember to stay far away from the nest or the robin will choose another site to lay her eggs.
How to make a nesting bag | The Science Mouse
When migrating birds come back to their summer territories, they begin to build their nests for their babies.  In Spring, the weather is getting warmer but it can still get very cold.  The wind can also still be cold even when it is warm out.  To keep warm, some kinds of birds build their nests...

Tales of Robins

Tales of Robins

Photo Credit: Robin
on WikiMedia Commons

The Robin in Folklore and Superstition
A rich folklore surrounds the robin, which has always been seen as a friend to people, and an emblem of charity and piety.

So William Shakespeare described the "ruddock with charitable bill" while William Wordsworth asked, "Art thou the bird whom Man loves best/The pious bird with the scarlet breast/Our little English Robin?"

Little Robin Redbreast

-from Mother Goose

Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a tree,
Up went Pussy Cat and down went he;
Down came Pussy Cat, away Robin ran,
Said little Robin Redbreast,
"Catch me if you can."

Little Robin Redbreast jumped upon a wall,
Pussy Cat jumped after him,
and got a little fall.

Little Robin sang and sang;
and what did Pussy say?

Pussy Cat said, "Mew, mew, mew,"
and Robin flew away.

Robin in the Rain

Raffi sings Robin in the Rain

Robins in the Rain

Photo Credit: Robin in the Rain
on Flickr, Creative Commons.



Robin in the Rain

Robin in the rain,
Such a saucy fellow.
Robin in the rain,
Mind your socks of yellow.
Running in the garden on your nimble feet,
Digging for your dinner with your long strong beak.
Robin in the rain,
You don't mind the weather
Showers always make you gay.
Bet the worms are wishing you would stay at home,
Robin on a rainy day -- don't get your feet wet,
Robin on a rainy day!

Author: Unknown
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The Robins in Your Backyard

This illustration from The Robins in Your Backyard show the find details of the paintings of the robins in Nancy Carol Willis' book The Robins in Your Backyard. Children delight in reading about these familiar birds that they can see right outside their door.

The Robins in Your Backyard
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Observing Robins

Letting the Kids Use the Digital Camera to Take Pictures of Robins

thirsty Robins Postcard postcard
Thirsty Robins Postcard by KatAnnette
Create postcards online at Zazzle



Children love to use the digital camera to record their observations of robins. Later they use these photos to illustrate stories and scientific reports. Children quickly learn how to use the zoom and light features to get the best shots.

Do you allow your children to use your digital camera? We found that the pictures we have taken of robins have helped us to get a closer look at robins and make observations that would not be possible to see when the robin is in motion. Our next goal is to try to recognize individual robins. We think that the digital photos will help in this endeavor.

Robin Worm tug of war by BobMacInnes
invitation to all flickrlumpuous digital altered book enthusiast by "T"eresa
curated content from Flickr

Audubon Stuffed Robins

Learn the call of the Robin

Plush Robin Audubon Bird 5



If you go to my Riverotters lens you will find suggestions for creating a classroom tree. We keep our stuffed birds in branches of our tree.

The stuffed Audubon birds have recording of the calls of the birds that they represent. The children love to push the button to hear their calls and I notice that when we go on walks we are now beginning to recognize more and more birds even when we can't see them.
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Robin Bulletin Board

Robin Classroom Display

Red Red Robin Bulletin Board

Photo Credit: Red Red Robin
on Flickr, Creative Commons.



This bulletin board, depicting robins as autumn changes to winter, uses all natural and recycled materials. It is the culmination of several days of art projects and the beginning of an interactive literacy center.

To create a Robin Themed Bulletin Board:
1. Lay a roll of brown paper on the floor. Invite the children to add snowflakes by dipping unused pencil erasers into white paint. If you have access to brown paper grocery bags you could recycle them for the background paper.

2. Create an Art Center at the easel with combinations of colors that will mix to create autumn colors. Invite the children to mix, for example, red and yellow to create orange. Ask the children to use the paint to cover White Card Stock with the colors they have mixed. Rather than uniform colors, you are looking for a more natural blending of the colors.This paper will be used to create leaves in the next Art Center.

3. At the Autumn Leaf Center the children trace around leaf-shaped cookie cutters and cut them out. These leaves are then posted on the bottom of the Robin in the Snow Bulletin Board. Alternatively you could teach the children how to use a Die Cutter to cut out the leaves with a Maple Leaf Die.

4. Papier Mache Trees can be made from brown paper grocery bags. Make a mixture of flour and water and place the mixture into a shallow pan and place this mixture with strips of brown paper in the Sensory Table. A used shower curtain placed under the sensory table will help to contain any mess. Provide painting smocks to protect the children's clothing. Lay the sticks on a nearby table to dry.

5. Provide several coloring pages of robins for the children to color and cut out to be places in the branches of the trees.

6. Bits of fiber fill can be used for the snow at the bottom of the bulletin board.

Color the Robins

Coloing Pages of Robins

American Robin Coloring Page
Connecticut (CT) State Bird and Flower:
State Bird - American Robin
State Flower - Mountain Laurel
Robin coloring page
Robin coloring page : free bird coloring pages to print out and color

This shows the underside of the wings and could be used as a recording sheet when observing robins. Ask the children to notice the difference in the color of the wings and the body of the birds when looking at them with their wings up.
Bird Coloring Pages. Free, Printable, Realistic.
Free, printable realistic bird coloring pages. Birds of prey, gallinaceous, songbirds and waterbirds.
Birds nest - colour and cut out: Gwent Wildlife Trust
Color and cut out the Bird's Nest with two baby birds, a craft project for children.
How to Draw a Robin
How to Draw a Robin free step-by-step drawing tutorial will teach you in easy-to-draw-steps

Write about Robins

Send a card to Welcome Spring!

After spending time observing the robins, it's time to write about all that you have learned. Write a poem, list some facts, just peck away at it...

Think of someone, like you, who likes robins and write them a note!
powered by Zazzle.com

Alliteration with the Robin in the Rain

Teaching Alliteration with the Robin in the Rain

Bird Nest

Photo Credit: Baby Robins
WPClipart


Another fun activity to teach children with a Robin in the Rain theme would be alliteration. Alliteration is when the consonants in the beginning syllables are the same in most of the words in a line. the title, Robin in the Rain is a perfect example of alliteration.

How could you add to the phrase Robin in the Rain to add more alliteration?

The red Robin in the Rain ran to the restaurant.

The rosy cheeked robin roasted rhubarb in the rain!

Rare marbled Robin spotted head

Video of a Robin

Thank you motorpurrr for making the video and suggesting it for this lens.
powered by Youtube

European Robin in the Rain




According to Poddys, the photographer, the European Robin is like a fat sparrow, rather than the American Robin who is more like a Blackbird/Starling.

Getting to know a Robin

American Robin
American Robin
John James...
Available at Allposters


The artist who painted these robins must have spent time observing the robins coming to her yard. Look at her technique. Notice the shapes she used to form the robins. Notice the colors she chose to paint the robins.

Naturalists study animals in close-up detail over time. These three books offer an intimate look at the life of a robin.
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Robin Puzzle

Take a close look at the American Robin

When I was little we used to go to my Grandma's house on Sundays for dinner and afterwords we always sat around the card table to put together a puzzle.

Puzzles of 500 pieces can be very difficult for young children but when they are done together as a family children can start learning and observing the shapes and soon begin to be able to put the pieces in place.

This robin puzzle has the advantage of depicting an American Robin up close. Children see them in the yard but it is rare to get such chance to observe a robin as in this detailed puzzle.

After putting together a puzzle like this robin puzzle, children are excited about looking for real robins in the yard and are able to make wonderful observations about them.
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Robin Themed Classroom Decorations

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Dress like a Robin in the Rain

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What's up with the robins?

American Robin Keyring, Onament, Magnet, or Pin photosculpture
American Robin by countrymousestudio
Available on Zazzle

News Summary: Publishing industry gathers for show
Young, whose memoir "Waging Heavy Peace" due out in October, will be interviewed by fellow singer Patti Smith at BookExpo America in New York this week. Photo: Courtesy Robin Hood / AP FILE - In this May 21, 2012 file photo, TV personality and author ...
Bird's-Eye View: Female robins picky about mates
But the bird that almost everyone can find in their yard is the American robin. True to its name, the robin is our American bird. It is found at least part of the year in every state except Hawaii and year round in nearly all of them.
American League roundup: Sale throws 5-hitter for White Sox
CHICAGO -- With a taxed bullpen, White Sox manager Robin Ventura gave in to Chris Sale's request. Sale pitched a five-hitter for his first major league complete game, and Chicago beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-2, Sunday for its 10th win in 11 tries.

Robin Related Lenses

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Robins, Birds, and the Eggs they Lay!

More Unit Studies about Birds

Two Robins Among Berries

Two Robins Among Berries
Buy at AllPosters.com


Who Laid THAT Egg?
Everyone knows that chickens lay eggs. Most people know that all other birds do as well but have you ever thought about all the other animals that lay eggs? ...
Bluebirds of the Meadow
Summer nears and the bluebirds start nesting along the fence line. The children are fascinated with the way they fly back and forth to build their nests. The...
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Gallinules are spectacular creatures. The can be found walking on water lilies in the canals throughout the Everglades. One day we took a trip to the Evergl...
It's Raining! It's Pouring
As the Rain Pours Down the Learning Soars... Water, rain, puddles, wetness... This lens will give you dozens of ideas, resources, hints and tricks to creat...
Edible Bird Nest Candy Recipe
These are the most adorable little treats to celebrate spring, Easter, and the beauty of nature. They are completely edible and look just like real bird nest...

Robin in the Rain Awards!

Nominated for the 2009 Giant Squid Awards!

Purple Star

Photo Credit: Robin receiving a Purple Star
original image by FlickR member "hazelnutter" licensed under CC 2.0.


Robin in the Rain just received a Purple Star !
Thank you Purple Star Squids for the honor of receiving a Purple Star! Robin in the Rain was one of the very first lenses to receive a Purple Star Award.
Only a few purple stars are given out each week, to exceptional NEW lenses created by Giant Squids. Read all the goods and news about purple stars.

This lens was nominated for the 2009 Giant Squid Awards!
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Rambling on about Robins

Raving about the Robins around your Yard!

Have you seen any robins yet this year?

  • efriedman Mar 15, 2012 @ 5:41 am | delete
    We have robins year round in California
  • Ruthi Feb 21, 2012 @ 10:04 am | delete
    I so enjoy watching the robins in the yard, and yes, especially after a soft spring rain. I even featured a robin on one of my poetic creations on my Lyrical Impressions lens. I am selecting your Robin in the Rain for the "Think Spring" Squidoo Quest.
  • Mamaboo Feb 2, 2012 @ 12:57 pm | delete
    I love Robins. One of the joys of homeschooling, is that we get to study the different birds around. Robins, Robin red breast specifically robin red breast. thank you for your robins and the rain!
  • nancycarol Feb 1, 2012 @ 5:21 pm | delete
    This is a wonderful "spring has sprung" article. Thanks for sharing...blessed by a SquidAngel.
  • Dec 16, 2011 @ 12:08 pm | delete
    My brother once raised a robin. He taught her how to hunt for worms, but he did it at night with a flashlight. He eventually let the robin go at our church. It was somewhat funny, but for a while, we would see a few robins hunting for worms at night in front of the lights at our church! Very nice lens!
  • JoyfulReviewer Nov 8, 2011 @ 9:56 am | delete
    What a delightful and informative lens on robins!
  • inspirationz Sep 8, 2011 @ 10:19 am | delete
    We get the European robin over here and they are so cute! :) I'm always inspired to draw them to try and capture their cuteness! I'd be honoured if you'd like to feature my robin products in your lens :) link -> my robin designs
  • brbrooks Sep 5, 2011 @ 4:16 pm | delete
    I enjoyed reading this lens. Good Job
  • BigGirlBlue Aug 19, 2011 @ 1:00 pm | delete
    Our robins follow me around the yard when I have the hose out. They actually are quite brave and will come within a few feet of me when I'm working in the beds.
  • golfspice Aug 12, 2011 @ 10:17 am | delete
    Excellent lens! - Lots of Robins in Oxfordshire, England. I saw one perched on the handle of a spade in our garden just the other day - looking very content. Plenty of food around for them at this time of the year.
  • LisaAuch Aug 11, 2011 @ 12:28 pm | delete
    As a Squid Quest for Squidoo. the angels are visiting more neighbourhoods! Blessed by a visiting squid angel - Fantastic resources
  • scarlettohairy Aug 9, 2011 @ 12:59 pm | delete
    I really enjoyed the robin information and especially all of the images.
  • phoenix-arizona-friends Jul 11, 2011 @ 4:38 pm | delete
    Awesome pictures!
  • TeamSTM Jul 7, 2011 @ 6:44 am | delete
    Wow, I didn't know that their were Robins from other parts of the Globe!

    Thanks for sharing this, the Educational Value is Priceless!
  • efriedman Jun 26, 2011 @ 8:18 pm | delete
    We see more robins now that we have moved from southern to northern California for part of the year. Good lens - I am featuring it on my Action Origami: Easy Paper Pelican lens.
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About the Author of this Robin Unit Study

What will your next unit study be?

The American Robin (Corrie Herring Hooks Series)


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Observing the Robins

Find out what I'm up to when I'm not observing robins...
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Robins in the Kingdom

Raffi sings Robin in the Rain

Singable Songs Collection


Includes Robin in the Rain



Come write about your experiences with robins on Wizzley, a fun and easy place to express your opinion:
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Evelyn_Saenz

My passion is teaching and finding ways to teach children in fun, hands-on, creative ways. The unit studies I make on Squidoo reflect my view that learning... more »

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