Robin's Winter Song

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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?

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.Talk about anything that is puzzling eg the idea of birds flying south or bears having ‘one long sleep’ in the winter There are several ways to make it easier for robins to settle in your garden. Especially in winter, garden birds often need additional support because their natural food supply is insufficient. What do robins eat? Robins are real water lovers; often found near bodies of water and in humid places. If you don’t want to install a pond in your garden right away, however, set out a bird bath. Your garden robins will be happy for it and are sure to splash around in the warmer months. 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. 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

In group discussion, ask the children if they have ever seen this type of bird and how it can be recognised.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 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. Winter singing is unusual in British birds, but the Robin’s melancholic song is heard throughout the country as the temperatures drop. With other birds quiet, it is a great time to really get to know the song of this common bird. It is a melodic, fluty song, beautiful and sad at the same time. With everything else quiet, the beauty of the song seems extra special.

The Story: Robin notices something is different when trees start losing their leaves, finches fly south and Squirrel is busy burying nuts. Helearns that winter is coming but is frightened as hedoesn’t know what winter is. He snuggles up to sleep with Bear and when he wakes up there is snow everywhere. Robin discovers that winter is fun and when the snow starts to melt he’s determined that spring, whatever it is, won’t frighten him. 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. My main complaint, though, is the writing. It wasn't too bad for the most part, except right at the end. Suddenly, there were a whole bunch of -ly adverbs, and Bear smiled his speech (which is an instant loss of a star from me; you simply can't make words come out of your mouth with a silent action). 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

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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. So manythemes that are familiar to children areincluded in Robin’s Winter Song– friendship, uncertainty, the changing of the seasons, dealing with new experiences. It would make a fabulous addition to a home or school library. Those that head for some winter sun in Europe, then return to their breeding areas by the beginning of March.