Garden Birds - Update One

 We have reached that point in the season where the garden becomes very manic, although this year with our Blackbird seemingly gone into retirement the main attention is around the Robins.

It is difficult to definitely settle on how many pairs of Robins there are, I thought maybe three, but more recently I think it is only two.  Neither pair nest in the garden, preferring to have the nest well away from the other birds that use the garden as a source of food.

Looking south from my house one pair is to the right of the house, the other to the left or even across Chalk Close.  I have found the best to the left as a result of a Magpie intrusion, more of which later.

It is very hard to separate the Robins as they all look alike, even the Robins seem to get mixed up, looking to attack even their mates over mealworms.  One stands out clearly and that is Donald, so called because last year the feathers on his head appeared to form a shape like a former US president's hair.  Unfortunately for Donald the name has stuck, I am not even sure if Donald is a "he".  Any way this is Donald, now with a nice moustache

On the other side, there are no real distinguishing features of either Robin, one of the pair though, I think a female is very tame and will com to take mealworms from my hand.  She also has what I can only describe as a pretty appearance over the other three Robins.  She likes to wait under the Patio table for me.

Here she is coming to my hand to take meal worms.

Identifying the mates then becomes difficult.  This one is Donald's mate, I know this as after this photo it took a worm and flew off in the direction of Donald's nest

This one is the tame Robin's mate (I can't bring myself to name her, not sure why), again I know this by the direction it goes, but if the birds were side by side I just would not know.

So what has been going on?  Up until the 21st we had two baby Robins being fed in the garden, these were from the pair to the left.  My tame Robin had been coming regularly, but since the young have turned up, she has been conspicuous by her absence, suggesting that she may be sitting on a second brood.  Her mate is taking the responsibility for feeding the young birds, their calls coming from the trees all around the garden.

Donald and his mate have been very busy taking meal worms, even coming into the house to take them.  Early evening on the 21st there was a lot of noise coming from the area of the nest and I could see two Magpies lingering close by, I chased them off but they did not go far.

I went to the nest where one young bird remained, unfortunately I spooked it and it flew from the nest into the road, as I tried to catch it the robin flew into the cover of a bush.  There was nothing more I could do but leave it and hope the parents could find it.

They did, but so did the Magpies, they were seen by the bush and unfortunately we do not know what happened to it.  However on a more positive note we think one or maybe two birds, flew or scrambled into our tall dense conifer hedge.  Donald and his mate continued to take meal worms away until dusk and in the morning they were feeding still and there were calls coming from the hedge, we shall have to wait and see what happens.  What I would hope is that if they decide to have another brood they do not use the same nest and build another somewhere else.

What else is happening?  The Starlings have two broods and watch for any opportunity to take the mealworms, in the past they would monopolise the dishes but as I am choosing to fed the Robins individually they are not so able to muscle in, they just sit on the fence and squawk in frustration.

The House Sparrows are also becoming interested which means they too must have young, however they seem to be as frustrated as the Starlings at the moment, not able to get into the dishes, they have started to follow the Robins though in an attempt to mug them to drop the worms.

As I mentioned our Blackbird appears to have finally retired.  This has meant though that he has been bullied by the other larger females including his old mate he was with last year and over the winter.  Any attempt to feed him saw him chased off by the females.

So the answer has been to feed him in the kitchen, we place the dish on the mat by the door and he comes in to eat.  The only ones to join him are the Robins, but he seems to tolerate them.  The Wren, which we will come to, also can surprise him, but in general he is happy to eat in the house even to the point where he is coming a lot more often.

And so to the Wren, the surprise package of the winter and now into the spring.  Gradually it has become tamer and tamer coming closer and closer.  Rather than feed it under the log as we did in the winter we now have to throw mealworms for it as the Starlings and Sparrows have realised worms are put close to the log.  The Wren will come in with the Robins and joins them around the patio table when the door opens.  It also responds to the sound of the worm dish being knocked on the table or wall.

All this means that I have been able to get quite close and have the opportunity to photograph what is normally a very secretive little bird.  It is not so brazen and still remains cautious using the cover of the flower pots and logs to get where it wants to go, but it will perch out in the open watching me and where I am likely to put the worms.

Here is a collection of photographs I have managed to take on the logs we have positioned on the corner of the lawn.

It would not be right to call the Wren fearless, but pound for pound, or rather gram for gram it is prepared to stand its ground and not afraid to pounce and take the worm from much larger birds including the Starlings and Blackbirds.

It regularly sings from the trees and seems to favour the area between the shed and conifers.  A Wren is also seen on the other side of the garden and whether this the same bird or another remains to be seen.  I have seen a family party of Wrens in the garden in previous years so I am hopeful that this one will breed if it isn't already.  The number of worms it takes away to different parts of the garden suggests that maybe it is caching them somewhere but it is difficult to tell.

Finally a House Martin was seen over the garden on the 21st April, their average return date is the 23rd April, hopefully the next garden update will include an update on their more permanent arrival