The males of the previous breeding season’s territories tend to remain resident within them, although the boundaries may be slightly modified. The female will sometimes also defend a territory near to the breeding one, but they are more likely to move away.

Most of our breeding Robins are sedentary in nature, although some will disperse to breed in a new area. Some individuals appear to undertake migratory movements and many Robins from colder countries like Scandinavia and Finland will pass through Britain in the autumn en route to Iberia or North Africa. Some of these birds will remain in Britain for the winter. Since females rarely sing, one of the more obvious ways to distinguish males from females – at least during breeding season – is to notice which bird is singing. What is the perfect habitat for robins? Robins are particularly associated with Christmas. Investigate with the children the various ways that the robin is depicted at Christmas: on cards, calendars, wrapping paper and decorations. Make a display of these.If the birds are not looking to attract a mate to their territory, why are they expending energy in defending one? The obvious answer that comes to mind is food. The theory goes that the bird is defending a territory that will be able to provide it with sufficient food to see it through the non-breeding season. It sounds entirely plausible, but unfortunately it isn’t the case. Robins breed from March to July, raising up to 3 clutches. The female incubates her eggs for about 14 days, while her partner supplies her with food. After hatching, the young are fed in the nest for another 14 days. This is a dangerous time for the young hatchlings. Since the nest is so close to the ground, they are susceptible to nest robbers like cats and magpies. And it’s precisely because of this danger, that robins will often begin building their second nest before the first brood is fully independent. Where do robins spend the winter?

It won’t be long before the species that won last year’s Vote for Britain’s National Bird will be staring at you from the corner of your living-room. The Robin, quite possibly hopping around in the sort of snowfall we rarely see in December, and maybe even sporting a Santa hat, will be the star of a good many of the Christmas cards that you receive. Before you start reading talk about the cover image together. Has your child seen a robin in a garden or park? Read the story aloud to your child pausing to talk about the illustrations and what is happening when your child wants to. Re read So why are they singing? Well, as in the spring, it’s to establish a territory, but, unlike in spring, they’re not singing to attract a mate to it. This territory is not for sharing. The Robin is well known for being a belligerent defender of its territory, and in early autumn they’re at their most aggressive as they compete with one another to establish the ownership of their autumn and winter quarters. ROBINS DEFENDING THEIR TERRITORY But, there seems to have been an earlier association between the bird and the Christmas period, and Christianity more generally. Children could retell the story using the illustrations to guide them. Make a robin finger puppet together that they can use to help them tell the story. Talk about the storyIn group discussion, ask the children if they have ever seen this type of bird and how it can be recognised.

One theory is that, at the time the sending of Christmas cards first became popular, in the 1860s, postmen wore bright red uniforms, and were so sometimes called ‘Robins’ – early Christmas cards include designs in which the bird bears an envelope in its bill. urn:lcp:robinswintersong0000bart:epub:f0c9219e-f47c-4d20-aa3d-d50be71f697c Foldoutcount 0 Identifier robinswintersong0000bart Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t3xt5tn51 Invoice 1652 Isbn 9781408859148 Another story is that a Robin pulled a thorn from the crown of Christ while he was on the cross, and that it was Christ’s blood that created the bird’s red breast.We’ll talk about the reasons for that seasonal association later, but, in fact, Robins will already have been stealing the show for several months. There are many indicators that summer’s over, autumn has been and gone and winter is here. Robins are happy to use bird boxes, but they do prefer large entrances–about 10 centimetres high. Spotted flycatchers, wagtails and wrens will also make use of a birdhouse with such a large opening. You can find more tips on the materials and dimensions for your birdhouse, and how best to clean it in our article on building your own bird box. How can I support robins even more? Make a robin finger puppet for your child to hold while you re read the story. Encourage them to join in with what the robin says and thinks – eg “ What are you doing?” , “Winter must be very scary!” Re-tell the story One fable holds that when the baby Jesus was in his manger, the fire lit to keep him warm blazed up very strongly. A brown bird placed himself between the fire and Jesus, fluffed out his feathers, but got its breast scorched by the fire, and the Robin was the result. In the period just before the onset of this autumnal territorial behaviour, Robins are hard to find. We tend to think of the Robin as just being there, but if you keep notes on the birds you see in your garden or on your patch, you may well have noticed that in the second half of the summer these common little birds are not so easily seen.

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Collect autumn leaves and make leaf prints. You will need paint and paper. You could also make sponge prints of birds and decorate with collage paper wings when dry. Make a Snowflake card The premise is quite amusing. When all of Robin's friends talk about Winter's impending arrival, he assumes it's a person. And that person sounds kind of nasty: scary, greedy, and cold. Since Robin's not a migrating bird, he hunkers down with Bear to wait out Winter's visit. But then he wakes up and sees the world transformed into a wonderland, plays with all of his friends in the snow, and ends up enjoying himself immensely. When he hears that Spring is coming, he doesn't get scared but, rather, looks forward to it. In fact, the word ‘move’ doesn’t really do this justice; a better word would be migrate. We don’t tend to think of our humble Robin as a migratory bird, but in the east of its range it is a true migrant, with Scandinavian, eastern European and Russian birds all leaving their breeding areas for milder winter ones. The other puzzle is why the males expend lots of time and energy in establishing and defending a territory in the autumn. If it’s not for breeding purposes, or food, what is going on? There are a number of theories, but none are conclusive.