In praise of robins – our festive feathered friends

Royal Mail staff wore bright red coats back then and were nicknamed robins or redcoats, after the little bird, and at some point card illustrators began to draw robins on festive cards.

Sadly, Victorians used to kill robins and sometimes use their feathers to decorate the Christmas cards.

Snowy scenes were also popular as a reminder of a very harsh winter (1836-1837) and this may have led to images of robins and snow being so strongly associated with Christmas.

What more do we know about these festive garden visitors? Robins don’t migrate to warmer climates during the winter months and will also continue to sing throughout the season, making themselves known with their loud, aggressive song!

The male and female birds look identical, but despite their engaging appearance, they are aggressively territorial and will drive away any intruders.

Robins nest in all kinds of unlikely locations and can be seen near to the ground in hollows, nooks and crannies, climbing plants, hedgerows tree roots and log piles.

Nests are built by the females and usually made of dead leaves and moss and are lined with hair.

Come spring, the female lays between four to six eggs, one per day.

These tiny birds have been known to ingest the eggshells of hatched eggs to provide extra calcium.

The average lifespan of robins is two years.

Their preferred foods are fruits, seeds, insects and earthworms.

You may have noticed them flying down to investigate, if you’ve just turned over some soil, looking for worms.

Often known as ‘the gardener’s best friend’, we should encourage them into our gardens and green spaces.

By allowing your gardens to grow a bit wild, you’ll attract their favoured food sources.

Also, planting trees and adding features like log piles or a compost heap can help.

As well as predation, in particular from domestic cats, the biggest threat that robins face is harsh winters, so why not consider feeding them during the colder months?

They feed on the ground so will only come to a flat-topped feeder (not the hanging kind).

They love suet, crushed peanuts, sunflower hearts and mealworms.

This is bound to bring these brightly coloured visitors to your green space over the festive season.

Remember: if you’re putting out bird feeders or nesting boxes, do follow cleaning instructions carefully.