Have any of you heard any mystery bird songs during the evening? The RSPB has been receiving a lot of calls from homeowners who suspect that Nightingales may be out singing their winter songs. But the RSPB wildlife team seem to be pretty sure it’s actually our good friend the Robin redbreast that is having a good old sing song.
Robins are usually one of the first birds that are ‘up and at ’em’ first thing in the morning. This means they are used to singing in low light conditions, so the evening is also the perfect time to for them to clear their throats for a good old sing song.
Birds mainly sing to attract a mate, or to defend their territory. The Robin is one of the few birds who protect their own ‘patch’ during the winter, and this is also one of the reasons why they continue to sing when most other birds have stopped.
RSPB wildlife advisor, Richard James, said –
We’ve had lots of calls from people sharing what they’d spotted during their Big Garden Birdwatch, but many also called rather excitedly to say they’d heard nightingales singing in the evenings. They were a little disappointed when we told them the birds were almost certainly robins, although they were still surprised to find out these birds sing at night. Before the cold weather took hold, we had a number of reports of night-singing birds, but that stopped when the snow arrived. Since it melted across most of the country this weekend, the birds have started up again and as we head towards the breeding season, this should increase.
It’s strange to thing of a Robin having it’s own territory. I mean, it doesn’t exactly look tough! So if you hear an evening song, just know it’s a gang of Robins protecting their patch from some other hoodlums who are trying to step up, just to get a rep!
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