January 2014

It is mid-winter, but the dawn chorus has started.  The songthrush was singing loudly this morning, as was the robin.  Robins are unusual as the female also sings during the winter, and both sexes defend a feeding site.  Robins have become closely associated with humans, and quickly become tame if a relationship is established.  Robins are not averse to entering buildings especially during the winter:

“The north wind doeth blow and we shall have snow, and what will the robin do then, poor thing, he will sit in the barn and keep himself warm, and tuck his head under his wing.  Poor thing.” (Anon).

Now is the time to keep the bird table stocked with food.  Birds particularly like fat during the winter as they use it for insulation and energy store.  Because the nights are so long, most birds cannot feed during the night, so have to stock up on high energy food during the roughly 9 hours of daylight.  As knowledge of the food supply spreads through the local avifauna, you will find that you are rewarded with visits from increasing numbers and varieties of birds.  Probably the first bird to find new food will be a robin, but blue tits, house sparrows and starlings may soon be close behind.  Then there will be blackbirds, dunnocks, wrens, chaffinches, greenfinches, goldfinches, great tits, long-tailed tits and great-spotted woodpeckers.  Woodpigeons will also visit if you are near trees, and collared doves may also visit as they, like robins, are usually associated with people.  You may also have visits from the local squirrel who will dominate the table if given half a chance, and all this activity may attract the local sparrowhawk who also needs to survive in the only way it knows, and that is to eat small birds.  After all we eat chickens, ducks, pheasants partridges and quail, so we should not begrudge a sparrowhawk a meal.   It is difficult to not have favourites as an ornithologist, and to make value judgements.  Some people still persecute magpies, sparrowhawks, crows and pigeons.  However, nature has a way of establishing a balance, and we should not usually interfere with that on the grounds of favouritism.  These animals do not choose their parents (as far as we know) so they have to live according to the genes that they inherit.  It is not their fault.  I know I would not like to be shot for being human.