Robins, Blackbirds and Jays

Jock’s year round robins and blackbirds are joined in autumn by winter visitors from Scandinavia, so a winter robin in your garden may have been born nearby, or may have migrated across the North Sea. Robins are unusual as they defend their winter territories and the males and females both sing.

During autumn it’s pretty unusual to hear our garden birds bursting into song-but you can rely on the nation’s favourite bird, the robin to be singing away. In fact it can be easier to hear the robin’s song in autumn since the other birds tend to be quiet.

Once they have finished moulting and have their new feathers, it’s thought they sing in autumn to establish their feeding territories, and if you watch, you might see this fiery little bird defending his or her territory and chasing the other birds away. That said, you can see them chasing other birds off all year round!

Male blackbirds look black all over, but Jock always notices their wings. If they are brown it is a young bird born in the summer; black wings are males over a year old.

Jock gets lots of fun watching the jays in autumn. Normally quite shy, he sees more of them in autumn. They’re flat out busy stashing acorns in holes they make with their beaks - only to spend the rest of the winter trying to remember where they have hidden them! These screechy birds can stash an amazing 5,000 acorns in autumn, and like to do so by bushes and trees.

Learn more by exploring these links:

• Robins
• Blackbirds
• Jays