Winner Takes All: Strategies for Successful Bird Feeding

It is in spring that we realise that robins certainly haven’t exhausted themselves by singing day and night throughout the winter. If anything, they have been saving themselves for a burst of activity.

At first, they seem to put all their energy into belligerence. If another Robin dares to so much as land near a feeder the resident bird will zoom at it like a torpedo and probably chase it round several circuits of the garden. If the intruder doesn’t weary of being harassed, he may well decide to settle the matter in an all out fight. Suddenly, the chubby little chum that poses on our Christmas cards is transformed into a miniature all-in wrestler. Beaks lunge, claws thrash and feathers fly, until the loser finally flees, muttering “well, I didn’t fancy her anyway.” 

Written by Bill Oddie