Wildlife early 2009

[cohan]

As you can see from the following, this is the real robin: http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?safe=vss&imgurl=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/2986402949_a2519000f6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/28424746%40N08/2986402949/&usg=__T3Z1MHlY7FswCcCuTjM92HnFDQA=&h=333&w=500&sz=77&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=aLyVokskXFfrbM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drobin%2Bin%2Bhand%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dvss%26sa%3DG

of course ours should be called 'american' robin when in international company; not being (capital A) American myself, i tend not to remember that
joking aside, it IS  much smaller than the north american species, but still easy to see why those homesick settlers named our species the same; more reasonable than many of the plant correspondences! (our calthas bear no resemblance to primula, for example, and we wont even touch the tropical fruits--'pine' apple/ 'grape' fruit? real stretches..lol)

[mark smyth]

I cant remember if I told you that 4 swallows possibly spent the winter in the south west of England. All but one were found dead during the cold snap.

Swallows and Sand martins have already been seen over here along with Wheatears, Terns and Shearwaters and singing Chiffchaffs and Willow warblers. This cold weekend will probably kill the early birds.

[cohan]

Swallows and Sand martins have already been seen over here along with Wheatears, Terns and Shearwaters and singing Chiffchaffs and Willow warblers. This cold weekend will probably kill the early birds.

sorry to hear that i know the ups and downs of individuals and populations are all natural, but we havent always left them with a 'natural' ability/space/time/habitat to respond....

[David Nicholson]

................. This cold weekend will probably kill the early birds.

So they'll miss catching the worm then!  OK-Sorry but couldn't resist 

[fermi de Sousa]

Fermi,

What species of snake is the long green one in the second photograph?

Paddy

Probably a water snake, Paddy!  Just tap it and see ...   

I'm a bit worried that the poor thing has eaten something that disagreed with it, either that or it has a nasty skin lesion....

Maggi
Couldn't you tell that it was TWO coupled together!
They have been prolific over the summer but hopefully we won't see they much over the winter!
cheers
fermi

[Maggi Young]

I'm a bit worried that the poor thing has eaten something that disagreed with it, either that or it has a nasty skin lesion....

Maggi
Couldn't you tell that it was TWO coupled together!
They have been prolific over the summer but hopefully we won't see they much over the winter!
cheers
fermi

Oooh, err, No! I really MUST get out more! 

[Michael J Campbell]

My greenhouse companion today.

[mark smyth]

waiting for vine weevil grubs?

[Maggi Young]

Michael, you have the smartest dressed companion I have seen....gardening  in his best suit.... what a handsome fellow! Cheers the heart to have such a friend while you work, does it not?

[Carol Shaw]

What a dapper chappy Michael!

[mark smyth]

You two know it's a boy?

There are differences between male and females. I used to know but have forgotton. When I worked in garden centres I figured it out. One is more richly coloured. One has a rounded head while the other has a flattish head. Very soon you will see females begging for food from males. He has to prove he is good at catching food before she decides to have young with him. If you watch closely you will see the differences especially if you keep them close with cheese, meal worms etc

[Michael J Campbell]

It is a male mark, the female is away feeding the young, he is waiting for me to give him some meal worms.

[David Shaw]

Only the males have the red breast, the females are brown. He is a very bright chappie. We are often accompanied by one in the garden but he has never followed us into the greenhouse.

[Maggi Young]

Only the males have the red breast, the females are brown. He is a very bright chappie. We are often accompanied by one in the garden but he has never followed us into the greenhouse.

author= Ashley Here both sexes have the same colouration.  It's fairly hard to tell them apart by appearance alone I think.

Both male and female robins are almost identical.... I believe tha males will be a tad brighter at this time of year as they show off to gain lady friends. Only young robins are brown, they have lovely speckled brown markings.

[TC]

Looking at Robins for about 50 years, I have never met anyone who could distinguish male/female by plumage differences.  A male Robin will attack any Robin in its territory.  He recognises the female by her submissive attitude and ceases his threat display.  It may be that her plumage is also different in the ultra-violet spectrum from a male.  This is pure conjecture on my part.  Blue Tits display plumage variations under UV light which are undetectable to the human eye. 
According to the Handbook of the Birds of the Western Paleartic, male/female Robins look the same.