Nature
Don’t forget the Robin! [ by David Denman ]
We can’t let Christmas go by without mentioning the robin. There are many stories as to why this species is associated with Christmas. My favourite is that postmen in Victorian Britain wore red tunics and were called robins. When they came to deliver Christmas mail, the association of robins and Christmas was made!
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obins sing for most months of the year and their melancholic, wistful song can be heard during the winter. Males can be very aggressive – I have on occasions had to separate two robins on the ground when locked in what looked like a fight to the finish. I have seen a robin attack its reflection in a patio door. Robins work well in partnership with humans and follow gardeners in search of uncovered insects to eat, and love to nest in sheds and garages. In keeping with the Christmas spirit, the best present your friendly garden robin can possibly receive is a plate of mealworms. Robins are especially fond of mealworms and will do anything for the treat. If you want to go one step further, it is perfectly possible to hand feed your robin mealworms and this can be achieved after a few weeks – I can guarantee that this Christmas present will be very well received! ……………………….............................. Our star hedgehogs from last month’s issue are now infrequent visitors to our garden and I have not seen a butterfly for at least two weeks. However, there are many species which are trying to make use of every last minute of daylight, as we approach the end of the year.
Early mornings bring hard-working teams of blue, great and amazingly agile, long-tailed tits inspecting every tree branch for insects and other morsels. Working as a well drilled team, the idea is that if an insect is disturbed and not eaten by one bird, another bird will have the meal. The same principle is adopted by groups of starlings when probing lawns as a winter flock. Visiting winter wildfowl increases the bird diversity on Deepings’ rivers and lakes. Most dramatic are the Whooper swans. Their mostly yellow bill separates them from the other wintering visiting swan, the Bewick swan, which is smaller and has more black on the bill. The mute swan which we see all through the year has an orange bill. The wonderful “honk” of the Whooper is one of the best winter sounds and was the inspiration for Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony! Whilst most species are just content to feed and find shelter in winter, certain insects are still progressing the art of propagating their species! Mid-winter sunlight in gardens and field margins can generate a dancing mating cloud of midges, Winter gnats, to be precise. The cloud dances within the shafts of sunlight and is made up of males trying to attract females.