Expert: Julia Booth - 4/1/2009

Question
I am in northern Iowa.  We have just a few robins in our yard every spring and summer.  It is now the first of April. Three days ago in my yard there must of been at least 50 or more Robins in my apple tree.  In that afternoon they all ate every berry off my cranberry tree.  I have never seen so many Robins in one place in my life.  Yesterday, it rained a little bid and it was very cold out side, I was at a friends home and it happened all again.  Many, many robins in one cranberry tree ate every last berry and all so on the ground with worms for a very long time.  What is this reason?  Do they often stay together in such a large amount of robins?  It was so amazing as it happened.  Our berrys just vanished with the birds. Then they all left.  Thank you for any info on these questions.

Answer
At the risk of sounding silly, it's Spring. Spring makes animals act kind of crazy. Robins have been known to appear downright drunk.

Another possibility is that some of the fruit they were eating was formented, which results in them behaving as though they are intoxicated. This is a common occurance with birds, although it tends to happen during the summer or fall, when fruit is more likely to be formented, right on the plant.

Hope this helps,

Julia