Do you remember the nursery song that begins "Dear little Robin, waiting so patiently outside my cottage door"? Or the nursery rhyme "Who Killed Cock Robin"? Who can resist a little Robin Redbreast? There's a reason it was voted the nation's favourite bird in a national poll to find the most popular bird in Britain. Quintessentially British, a constant visitor on many a Christmas card, no garden bird feeder seems complete without a robin pecking away on a low, ground feeding station at the Oops. offered mealworms, dried berries and suet. When I am digging in my garden, turning over the soil, the most friendly and trusting little robin is always there, not far away at all hoping to find exposed grubs or worms for an easy snack.
Today, though the weather is biting. We are below freezing for the first time this year. Being peninsula We don't normally drop below freezing until into January. I guess it's a sign of the times. I was woken up in the night by the gentle hum of the central heating, which came on because the inside of the cottage dropped below 16 degrees C. I was putting the bins out at 4:00 a.m. on a cold and frosty morning under a cloudless, silver moonlit, star studded sky. As the day break came a few hours later, I could see the bird bath frozen solid, a rare thing here.
All the deliciously crisply crunchy leaves we love stomping through are now a soggy mess lining the verges of the country lanes. If the rain hadn't already done its work, the frost will soon speed up the process and that, rich dark leaf mold will suddenly appear. Quite the best growing medium for next year's hedgerow flowers.
A robin redbreast sits, perched upon a fragile stem and he looks cold! Fluff up those pretty feathers, sweet friend, and keep warm.
possibly the one below is one of this year's fledglings
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Stay safe stay well.
Stay warm!
Debbie. xx
Hello, Debbie! I miss your posts about WWWWWWW! The weather where I live is mostly chilly and damp with some windy days mixed in. I'm looking forward to snow this winter, as last year I think we received only one or two inches total. Your little robin is darling. Our robins across The Pond are bigger, but always a welcome sight in early spring when they reappear. Doing my best to stay cozy!
ReplyDeletethank you, yes the robins are very different, American robins are of the Thrush family, British of the Muscicapidae family. It's even colder here today.
DeleteBeautiful robin photos. Water in the stone bird bath/drinker on the ground was frozen all day here - brrrrr!
ReplyDeletethank you. Same here and still frozen, if anything whiter this morning.
DeleteYour robins are so very pretty, Deb. And these are just terrific photos -- they really capture this sweet bird, so different from our robin in many ways. It's cold here, too -- a slight warm-up today and then we're back to it with more snow to come. Hope you are having a good week!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jeanie. I wonder, have you painted robins at all?
DeleteLovely post about this time of year and your lovely robin, Deb. I recently learned that the American robin is not a robin at all, but a thrush! Seems the colonists saw the red breast and likened it to your darling robin. Such good photos of the leaves and the trees of your area. We have now experienced a killing frost with our temperatures dipping into the teens. All the clay pots have been stored in the potting shed, except the really large one that I just turn upside down in place and hope for the best. So glad to hear you were able to venture outside, Deb! Stay warm and cozy and safe!
ReplyDeleteThank you Martha Ellen. The resemblance to the thrush family is apparent and your history rings true on the naming of the bird. As you can see, the leaves that cling on are few and far between here, more like distant wispy clouds.
DeleteSuch a pretty bird. It is different from our American Robin, but very sweet. Beautiful photos. I used to have a robin that came back every year at our old house. While I sat and weeded a flower bed, it would sing and sing. One evening in Summer, it sang to me for two hours. It was magical.
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear friend. They say when robins appear our loved ones are near. their song is so pretty.
DeleteA beautiful post Debbie with atmospheric photos and so true of robins looking for food when you are gardening. A lovely thought about robins and loved ones. It has suddenly gone so cold after the mild wet weather. I do like sunny days and frosts but it is so very cold! A cold snap seems early this year. Temperatures are more like January or February!
ReplyDeletethank you Caroline. It is cold for the time of year. I am layered up like something out of Dickens! At least it is dry and sunny, but how long for? I certainly don't manage the cold as well as I used to!
DeleteI seem to be able to comment again which is good. Such a lovely post and photos of Robins. It is very cold and frosty here today:)
ReplyDeletehappy the blogger gremlins have flown away
DeleteLOvely post, Deb, it sounds cold like it is here. I can't go out anyway as my cough/cold morphed into Covid. I was coughing the whole night, and now my riby all hurt! Oh well, it will pass! Take care, hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteThank you, I hope you feel better soonest. Hugs, Deb
DeleteWhat a wonderful description of Wales at this time of year! You have such a good talent for writing! Love the pictures of the robin, and just learned (from Martha Ellen) that what we call a robin isn’t a robin at all! Take care of yourself! Sending you hugs!
ReplyDeleteThank you Nellie, yes, they're not even in the same family!
DeleteWhat a lovely post this is, I enjoyed seeing your photographs.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree the Robin is a lovely bird and is my favourite ... in fact quite a few of this years Christmas Cards do have a Robin or two on them :)
Stay safe and war in the current cold weather snap.
Sending my good wishes.
All the best Jan
Thank you Jan. Christmas isn't Christmas without the Robin, is it?
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