Spadework can prompt robin’s visit
NOTHING fills my heart with as much joy at this time of year as seeing a robin in our garden.
We had been doing a bit of mowing of the lawn and cutting back of a large bush by the garden gate and had just settled down for a cup of tea, when he appeared underneath the bush.
He was just a shadow at first but then out he popped to have a good look at the humans and small terrier nearby.
Just to make him feel a bit more at home, I got my spade and turned over some soil to unearth some juicy worms for him to feast on. And it was great to see him take a worm and hop back into the bush to devour it.
A week back we had a talk by the TV naturalist Simon King, what an inspiring fellow. Part of his talk was about rewilding and how we should be keen to get animals like beaver, wild boar and lynx back into UK wildernesses.
Unfortunately, when it comes to bringing back animals “which are the natural architects of the countryside”, we are terrified of any kind of change.
One interesting point Simon made was that robins will appear in your garden if you are digging into the soil, but in the old days they would follow herds of wild boar.
In France and Germany the grunting gangs still tear up the ground, naturally scruffing up the seedbank so that native plants grow better.
And during that scruffing-up process, worms and other insects will be brought to the surface for robins and other birds.
So we are now providing the service that boars once did and continue to do on the Continent.
Our robin was an absolute pristine bird, probably one of this year’s models.
While its red belly and white underside made it obviously a robin, I noticed its sleek brown back feathers and cap. This is truly a beautiful bird.
And listen out for its wonderful voice, I love the British Trust for Ornithology’s description – “A robin’s song is wistful and dreamy. The voice is rounded in tone and varies in pace from slower contemplative whistles to faster, louder notes.”
They are one of the first birds to sing in a morning and will sing if disturbed in urban areas with streetlights.
While robins tend to be quite aggressive in defending their territory during spring and summer, in winter they have been seen in small flocks, probably getting together for warmth and a bit of company.
This isn’t really surprising as we have an estimated 100,000 robins in the north west so there is only so much territory to go round.
So over autumn and winter, make sure your bird table is stocked with food containing insects of mealworms, and every so often just turn over a patch or two of soil in your garden. If you are lucky you may get a regular visit from a robin to brighten up these colder days.
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