Something that regularly puzzles me is how difficult it can be to spot birds in trees, even in the middle of winter, and even when they’re singing their heads off. At human head height, in this case. The noise this Robin was producing, as it set out its stall for potential mates and rivals, was so loud that I felt I should have been able to pinpoint the singer immediately, but it was only on my second circuit of the holly bush that I eventually managed to find it. It was a bit embarrassing to be honest, and it would have served me right if I’d missed the shot, but the little chap kept on singing and singing – its urge to establish a breeding territory obviously far stronger than any nervousness it might have felt towards me.
Lovely as it is to hear songbirds letting rip with their advertising pitches so early in the New Year, I read an article the other day by the British Trust for Ornithology that sounded a note of caution: winter may not yet be finished with us, so it’s too early for them to begin breeding safely. I can only hope they’re all on the BTO mailing list, and heed the warning.
R: L2, C4, D1.
