I have a question. I've been trying to find out what kind of birds I saw landing in my neighbor's tree a couple weeks back. I didn't think much of it other than it was too cold to see robins because of the bitter temps we've been having this winter. Then I saw an article in the newspaper about how birds from Canada and the Arctic are here in New Jersey. Why? Because it's the coldest winter we've had in 25 years!
Now, I know that robins migrate back in the spring, first the males, then the females. These looked very much like female robins, only light in color. Since we've had a bunch of almost white robins in the area over the last couple years, I didn't think much about it until I saw the article.
Thinking back, they were light in color, even for female robins. And it was extremely cold. No hope for an early spring from that! They also were in a "flock" of about 8-10 birds. Their shape both in flight and while perched looked like robins. The color was off, but I chalked that up to bad eyesight and that the sun was behind them.
Now, having read the article in the paper about non-indigenous birds being in NJ, I think I was wrong about these birds. I know, I'm probably stupid for not grabbing my camera and not thinking more about the fact that robins would not come back if the weather was so bitter cold. Duh me! Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone could help me identify these birds. All the ones they mention in the article are not the birds I saw. And using this site to identify them has been very frustrating because it relies on location and these birds obviously aren't typically found in NJ.
So, any help would be great! Thanks so much!
