Our favourite visitor flocks to gardens as spring nears
MY cousin David knows the wildlife well in his back garden and recently told me that he had seen lots of robins this year.
Being awkward I poo-pooed his sightings and suggested that it was rare for two robins to be seen together outside the breeding season, but I now admit I was probably wrong.
Firstly, robins can have between two and three broods a year and will look after their two or three fledglings for up to three weeks. In fact, while mummy robin is preparing for her second brood, care of the kids defers to daddy robin.
If our David has a nest close to his garden then there is no reason to believe that he has not seen a number of robins in his garden at particular times in spring and summer. It also explains why the robin is one of our most common garden birds.
Once those fledglings have gone the male and female robin will go back to defending their breeding territories throughout summer and single robins will protect feeding territories in winter.
Territories tend to have six pairs in an area the size of a football pitch, but it all depends on local woodland.
Robins are aggressive and will fight with other robins to defend their territories, and things can get really messy. But recent data from the British Trust for Ornithology found that British robins are becoming a little less nasty to each other in cold winters. Flocks of robins have even been spotted in colder years.
Robins are our favourite bird with their beautiful red breasts and spotty youngsters. They out-sing much of the dawn chorus and are quick off the mark when the sun rises.
They will nest in pots, old wellies and on shelves in sheds but they really prefer ivy and shrubs.
To become a member of the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, go to lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129. For more information about Cheshire Wildlife Trust, call 01948 820728 or go to cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk.