Mahoning Valley - There has been an increasing amount of robin sightings throughout the Valley, and while some may believe that the sightings come from warming weather, the presence of robins being singular to the spring, that is actually a myth. 

Many people believe that robins migrate south for the winter, but that is not entirely true. 

Many fruit eating birds, like robins, flock to yards during the winter in search of food. They mainly focus on trees and shrubs that hold their fruit for a long period of time and help feed robins when insects aren't readily available. 

"In spring, we start seeing robins returning to their diet of worms and insects. While it appears that they have migrated back from their winter range, what we're seeing is the seasonal switch from the large flocks and fruit diet to again defending their territory from others while getting ready for nesting and rearing young," says Eric Barrett, Ohio State University extension educator and associate professor of Mahoning County. 

Robins survive winter by fluffing up their feathers, leaving onlookers to believe that they are chubbier than normal. 

Only robins from the far north, such as Canada migrate during the winter, and many local robins are here year round. While many can't see robins, they can hear them chirping. 

Robins usually form flocks where there is a lot of fruit on trees and in shrubs. Robins are attracted to fruits such as crabapples, hawthorns, holly, and juniper. 

If you're looking to see robins in your yard this summer, you should put out cranberries, wireworms, blueberries and suet pellets. This will attract not only robins, but lots of other birds as well. 

If you want to learn more about robins and how to get them in your yard year round, you can visit http://go.osu.edu/robin