The American robin: February’s Migratory Bird Treaty Centennial featured bird
You’ve probably heard of the American robin, and may have seen one tugging at worms in your yard. These birds – harbingers of spring, joyful songsters, jolly, round bundles of grey and rust – are a common sight in Michigan. In fact, the robin is so identifiable and well-loved that it was named our state bird in 1931. There was a time, however, when robins were not as common as they are today. In the post-World War II years, DDT and other pesticides were widely used. Farmers sprayed DDT on their fields to reduce crop pests, cities applied it to elm trees to kill the beetles that spread Dutch elm disease, and homeowners used it to control household insects. Luckily, scientists began to recognize that widespread use of pesticides, including DDT, was causing problems for birds like the American robin. An ornithologist from Michigan State University named George Wallace and his graduate students collected birds from MSU and surrounding suburbs from the mid-1950s into the 1960s....