Robins by Hetti Sansom

The robin, with its distinctive bright red breast is most commonly associated with winter; however, it can be spotted throughout the year throughout the UK.

There are an estimated 5,895,000 annual breeding pairs in the UK, who make their homes in woodland areas, hedgerows, parks or gardens. You can encourage robins into your own garden relatively easily, simply by introducing bird tables and putting out fat balls, cake, mealwork and sunflower hearts regularly; this will also encourage a large number of other small common garden birds, such as blue tits, sparrows and chaffinches. Along with these other garden bird species, a robin's natural diet includes worms, insects, seeds and fruits.
Despite their friendly and good-natured appearance, robins are well known to be aggressive and extremely territorial all year round; they are quick to drive away intruders and will fight to the death. Fighting displays are rare to see, but if you do witness one, try and view it without disturbing the birds at a distance, using a pair of binoculars.

During winter, their song can be heard throughout the day and night. Some believe robins sing at night positioned next to street lamps because the street lamps fool the robins into thinking it is still daytime, whilst others suggest that this is because they prefer to sing when it is quieter and their song can be heard. However, robins are rarely heard singing during mid-summer as this is the moulting period when they also tend to hide away.
The robin is small, with a wingspan of around 20 to 22cm, weighing anywhere between 16 and 22gm. Male and female robins are very similar, if not identical in appearance, although some believe that the male’s brown head crest is 'U' shaped and the female’s is 'V' shaped. Juveniles, however, have no red feathers and are speckled brown.

During winter, our resident robin is joined by large numbers of migrants from Europe, particularly from Scandanavia. See if you can tell the difference: the migrants are said to be paler and have duller breasts. These migrant robins are more often seen in woodland areas.