gb supp 2018 (1)

Help your
GARDEN
NESTING BIRDS
What some of our
most common
garden nesters may
be up to this month
BLACKBIRD
Our most common and familiar thrush is
so well known it doesn't even have
‘thrush’ in its name. Abundant and
present on just about every lawn. Males
are black with an orange-yellow bill and
eye-ring. Females are dark brown and
a bit spotty, betraying their thrush genes.
SPRING ANTICS
Males sing one of the most beautiful
songs of all British birds, especially at
dawn and dusk. Fluty and rich, with
complex phrasing (lacking the repetition
of the Song Thrush’s ditty). Females may
be seen gathering moss and small twigs
to make a nest.
NEST TYPE
Classic cup-like nest of twigs and moss
concealed in a bush or hedge. May use
open-fronted nestboxes or equally use the
nestbox roof as a platform for a nest.
How you can help
Don’t trim bushes or hedges during the
breeding season. Keep cats indoors or
away from the lawn and with no access to
possible nests.
Tim Gainey/Alamy*
ROBIN
Everyone knows the Robin, our
‘almost official’ national bird. Males
and females look the same. It is only
during the breeding season that you
will see two Robins tolerating each
other’s presence in the garden.
SPRING ANTICS
Though both sexes sing in the winter,
it is just the males that sing their
delightful ‘liquid silver’ song during
the spring (including at night time in
some cases). The pair will become
defensive of the territory, seeing off
intruders. You may even see some
feeding of the female by the male on
completion of the nest.
NEST TYPE
They nest in concealed hollows in
natural spaces or any cavity they can
find (in an old boot or kettle!); though
will take to open-fronted nest boxes.
How you can help
Don’t disturb nesting Robins. As with
Blackbirds, try to prevent cats from
attacking the youngsters. Keep providing
bird food and water.
Dave Watts/Alamy*
10 Create the Perfect Bird Garden 2018