We built up a relationship and trust with a Robin last winter / spring.. nothing unusual there!
I can mimick the call of a Robin and he would be with us within 30 seconds usually.
Every time we had tea outside in the spring he came and joined us . We provided RSPB mealworms and eventually he used to perch on the teapot cover, fly down and into the pot and help himself. A real endorsement for RSPB products!!
He / she was feeding a nest full of chicks, which all fledged sucessfully, after that we saw him less and eventually he did not return!! We do have several Robins in the garden so I presume they took over the territory
Sorry about the quality of the pictures they were taken on a mobile phone but you get the idea!!
Hi Blackbird,
Funny you say that! That is what I did when I went inside I left some floating in water, which slowed things up a bit and made sure that he/she was not being too lazy and feeding too much dry food to the chicks back at the nest.
Ha! Look at the picture of the Robin in the pot...... there are three mealworms in mid flight top left and centre of the picture, he used to get in there and have a good flick around to select the best one, cheeky monkey!!
Nicki C said:The dry mealworms where soaking in warm water, but Mr Robin still pinched a couple and flew off.
Morning Blackbird
I was interested to read your comment about soaking dry meal worms as we have just started feeding dried mealworms recently and are new to these. Should one do this before serving?
Does this improve their quality ? Bit like reconstituted eggs I suppose. Do they swell up?
Have had live ones before but they are quite expensive.
Hello Silver Fox you certainly had a treat wit this little chap/chapess! I wonder if there is any clear way to tell between a male and female robin?
Mealworms are currently costing me a fortune with Blackbirds and Starlings fighting for them in my Norfolk garden. Last week there was a bit of an incident when about 8 starlings tried to force their way into my feeder and it came crashing down, I sensed a wry tweet from the blackbirds!
Keep Norfolk for birds
Hi,
I always soak my dried mealworms. It plumps them up and makes them more like live ones. I believe it is also better for the birds.
Cheers, Linda.
See my photos on Flickr
Unknown said:I wonder if there is any clear way to tell between a male and female robin?
Hi Pinkfoot
Robins pair up from late december to early March apparently. The female chases the male until she is accepted and once paired off the male feeds her as part of the courtship so that behaviour if seen could identify them for you. Otherwise visually they look the same.
Young robins are brownish with golden spots and no red breast at first, they will gain adult plumage in the autumn moult.
Lovely sparky cheerful little birds though with a courageous heart.
Thanks for that as I didn't know the answer!!