What's your Robin up to?

[acherontia]

I thought I'd start this for anyone who wants to talk about robins and compare anecdotes.
Robins are such 'different' birds. they will fly over and look you in the eye, unlike most other birds.

Mine comes to the window to remind me to put oiut food ans he's lately been approaching me and singing as I'm filling the feeders. Today he actually came down and and sat next to me and watched, whilst singing. He was so close when he took off he ruffled my hair.
Then he introduced me to his lady friend. He was courting her last week and they seem to be pairing up now. You should see his posturing!
Has anyone got a robin who feeds out of their hand or similar? And are your robins pairing up yet?

Acher

[Stinky Bob]

I haven't got one that feeds out of my hand, I have got one that comes into my office and S**ts on my monitors, I also have a blackbird try and get into the kitchen and I have had to put a fly screen thingy and in the summer if I leave the upstairs landing window open I get house martins fly in when they mistime their approach, and you dont want to know about the newt hibernating in the dog basket (in the office) or the hedgehogs or toads that I am forever kicking out - its like something out of Dr Dolittle.

[shenk1]

Not mine ,but went to a garden centre today and one kept appearing in the indoor area ,where else but at the birdfood section !

[Firefox]

i once heard a robin singing, so i went to the bush where i heard the singing and i managed to pick it up, i got a few pics of it with my sis, but unfortunately not with me! other that that i havent had many robis in the garden just a few regualar ones that allllways are at the feeders! lol

i will upload a pic of the robin when i can!

[k4t3]

my robin gets quite stroppy if there is no food for him at any of the feeding stations in my garden, firstly he sits on the bird table and seems to stare into the porch, if nothing is forthcoming, he will then move to the rowan tree near the door and sing...if I am still holding out on him, he will occasionally come to the porch door and peck the door until I give in and put some grated cheese, mealworms and skin off the sunday chicken out for him. But it is rare that I actually get back inside before he is there at the feeding station, such is his cheek!

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by shenk1

Not mine ,but went to a garden centre today and one kept appearing in the indoor area ,where else but at the birdfood section !

Me too!

However, there were loads of them indoors. I spoke to the coffee shop guy in the Garden Centre and he said they'd become a real problem. There's notices up everywhere asking people not to feed them. This is a large indoor centre with open plan coffee shop and plant areas outside too. THere were Robins flying in and out of all the stalls especially the bird food section! The singing was amazing too - at first I thought it was one of those bird tape thingies.

He said obviously there's a H&S issue but they are trying to keep it a bit quiet and cover absolutely all foodstuffs/canteen areas each night. Apparently, the Robins have been coming in for years each winter. I asked him whether they manage to find their way out and he said, they're very clever and either wait for the sliding doors to open or get out through holes in the perspex roofing! So me and Mum sat down for coffee and had Robins singing full belt just above our heads!

The guy that worked the coffee shop kept saying ''I absolutely love them!'', ''they cheeky things and come and land on you for peices of cake'' etc etc but ''we've had to ask people to stop feeding them as people were coming from miles around, just to see them''!

(I wont' disclose the name of the place just in case H&S get in and close down the centre or demand the Robins be shot if they can't be caught)

Anyway the good news is, in the outdoor area, I bought a very healthy Conteneaster (column) that produces lots of red berries and a red berried Pyracantha - with Robins shooting out from all directions under my feet as Mum and I selected the plants! Food aplenty for my winter thrushes next autumn.

[loripo]

There is a robin that lives in one of the greenhouses at the Chelsea Physic Garden - in the succulents and fly-catchers lean-to. I have video of him bathing in the 'water feature' near the sundews. The cafe is just outside and he mops up crumbs - they have feeders around too.

(The video is on the schoolstube dot com site. If you search the videos for 'birds' it's the 'birds bathing' one (only 2-3 mins -the same username as on WAB) at the end of the video)

[acherontia]

Nice stories! Much as a love robins I wouldn't fancy any cake they'd been sitting on!

Originally Posted by k4t3

my robin gets quite stroppy if there is no food for him at any of the feeding stations in my garden, firstly he sits on the bird table and seems to stare into the porch, if nothing is forthcoming, he will then move to the rowan tree near the door and sing...if I am still holding out on him, he will occasionally come to the porch door and peck the door until I give in and put some grated cheese, mealworms and skin off the sunday chicken out for him. But it is rare that I actually get back inside before he is there at the feeding station, such is his cheek!

A lucky robin! Sounds just like mine (soon to be more of by the looks of it)

They've just clocked me in the kitchen window and 'sworn' at me..it sounds just like annoyed 'tutting'.

Originally Posted by loripo

(The video is on the schoolstube dot com site. If you search the videos for 'birds' it's the 'birds bathing' one (only 2-3 mins -the same username as on WAB) at the end of the video)

There's 4 vids of yours there loripo but I can't see the bathing one!

Acher

[planetsue]

My Robin sits on the branch of a tree watching the bird table. Every time a blue tit lands on the table he attacks them

[artdemole]

Robby is dive bombing the bird feeder just because its rsb bird count time..