I was sat in the garden watching a Robin hop around quite close to me when it suddenly crouched down and slightly moved its head to the side, eye towards the sky. I looked up and saw a bird quite high, flying over head, we have a lot of hawks around but not sure that this was one. The Robin stayed crouched until the bird had gone. This is the first time I've seen this happen, is it normal or is this a particularly clever Robin?!
Hi Annf, this is normal behaviour by a lot of birds that see any potential threat. Could have seen a sparrowhawk, a cat, etc. I would also mention that robins also do something called "posturing" if they see another intruder robin around as they seek to retain their territory or mate and see another robin as a potential rival. Robins are very territorial. They will go into posture stance with chest puffed out and may sway their head/body side to side.
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Regards, Hazel