12 January 2021

Robins

Damflask Reservoir earlier today

Damflask Reservoir is within Sheffield's city limits. It was formed in  1896 when the damming of The River Loxley was completed. Damflask had been the name of a small village - the remains of which now lie at the bottom of the man-made lake.

I was over there today for a short walk in afternoon sunlight  before our golden orb dipped below the hills. On another occasion I shall circle the entire reservoir - some 3.5 miles but today was not the time for that.

Just before I turned about, ready to head back to Clever Clint The South Korean Silver Machine, I was joined by a robin. He hung around like an old friend as I wilfully bemused him by imitating various bird calls. Slowly, I slid my camera out and managed to get several photographs of my new feathered friend. A recent poll by the RSPB (Royal Society for The Protection of Birds) revealed that the European robin is in fact Britain's favourite bird.

The European robin is not to be confused with The American robin which is a bigger bird that got its name "robin" from early European settlers who, because of the bird's breast colouring, were reminded of the robins they had left behind on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. American robins are more common and will often be seen in flocks but the European robin tends be solitary and territorial.

Here's the American robin:-

And once again, here's the little European robin that welcomed me to Damflask Reservoir:-

39 comments:

  1. Your robins remind me of our bluebirds! Which reminds me, we have a bluebird box that was a gift from my late mother-in-law that I need to see about putting up in our back yard (British=garden) now that the days are getting longer. We've been waiting for years to have our own place where we could install it. There are lots of bluebirds in this neighborhood so maybe a pair will move in!

    American robins have been congregating in large flocks around our house just recently. I saw several of them taking a bath in a puddle of water outside our window the other day.

    The Damflask Reservoir looks like a beautiful place for a walk.

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    1. I am glad that that this blogpost reminded you about putting up the bluebird box. It will be a nice reminder of your mother-in-law with whom I know you had a happy relationship.

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    2. Put it up soon! The parents-to-be start looking for their perfect home early on.

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  2. Oh, goodness! What a sweet, beautiful creature. Your photos are beautiful, as usual. He is so small ...

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    1. You probably realise that these robins often appear on British Christmas cards.

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  3. We have a couple of robins who visit us on a daily basis. I don't think they are particularly fond of us but they do like the little bits of cheese and breadcrumbs we put out for them. One of them has been coming for many years now. We recognise him or her by the single white feather on its wing (can't tell the difference between male or female as they look very similar).

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    1. Like you I have no idea how to sex robins without trapping them and getting a magnifying glass out.

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  4. We get the flocks of robins on their way back up north. They fill the trees and spend time on the ground, looking for food to fuel their flights. It's always thrilling to see them come.

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    1. The two types of robin are very different . Actually I believe there are sub-species in America.

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  5. Anonymous9:57 pm

    Your robin is indeed an attractive bird.
    That looks like a spillway in the reservoir and it is very nicely done.

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    1. It is the beginning of the spillway Andrew. The overflow water was roaring down.

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  6. Your robin looks a bit spunkier than ours, although I've seen two of them go after a German Shepherd who dumbed his way too close to a fledgling that had not quite realized that he could fly.

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    1. Did the German shepherd have a dog with him?

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  7. Thank you for showing the difference between the European and the American robin. Your robin is a very cute little bird. Is it common to see your robins at this time of the year? The American robin is usually seen as a sign of coming Spring and Summer and not seen during the Winter months.

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    1. Our robins appear frequently on Christmas cards and they are with us the whole year through. There's usually a robin in our garden.

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  8. I love robins. I have two come to my garden and, whenever I do any digging they hang around waiting to see what I dig up. I think they are Mr and Mrs as I believe females and males look alike, unusual for the bird world.

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    1. It's funny how they get so close during gardening work.

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  9. the American robin is actually a thrush. the young birds have a spotted breast.

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    1. Surprisingly I believe our little robin also belongs to the thrush family Red.

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  10. Skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow : G.M. Hopkins. Pied Beauty.
    And two species of the pied robin !
    My sister and brother in London tested positive for the virus, so I am thankful for this post.
    Loxley is an echo-ing name for a drowned village.
    There was Locksley Hall by Tennyson, a poet who haunts me like Hopkins.

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    1. It is said that Robin Hood came from Loxley.

      Very sorry to learn that your brother and sister have contracted the virus. If I were not a militant atheist, I would pray for them. It must be a hell of a worry for you. Let's hope they get through it unharmed as so many others have done.

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    2. My sister has a cough and headache. My brother said it felt like the worst hangover, along with exhaustion and shivering.
      Be careful right into summer, Neil. Your wife does great work.
      I'll stay away from cafes, pubs, restaurants in 2021. And churches.

      Robin of Loxley: I have an audio book of that name read by John Nettles, one of my favourite actors. Wish I'd seen him on stage, with Royal Shakespeare Co.

      Watch *Shakespeare vs. Milton: The Kings of English Literature* (Youtube).
      I am reading John Carey's abridged Paradise Lost (Faber).
      I have no difficulty reading small print, but the typeface in this edition is large enough for readers with presbyopia. Milton's sentences are thrilling.

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    3. Presbyopia? I had to look that word up. For the benefit of other readers...

      Presbyopia is the gradual loss of your eyes' ability to focus on nearby objects. It's a natural, often annoying part of aging. Presbyopia usually becomes noticeable in your early to mid-40s and continues to worsen until around age 65.

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  11. Gorgeous little chap!

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    1. Thank you Kylie! That description could also be applied to the robin.

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  12. I never knew that there were two different types of robins!
    Last week, while out walking I spotted a very large red-tailed hawk perched atop a lamp post and then a bit further on - a beautiful, bright red cardinal!
    My brother countered that by sending a photo of a huge tawny owl that suddenly appeared right in front of him - looked him over - posed for a couple of photos and then flew off - it was amazing!

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    1. I guess that your brother was too big to eat.

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  13. Robins are certainly our favourite Britsh garden bird - the little gardener's friend always hopping about collecting the bugs we disturb. Mr B had one that would eat from his hand. Immigrants to NZ named one of the native birds (feathered kind) they encountered robin, not for its colour but its behaviour. NZ robins follow you through the bush collecting the bugs you disturb and are quite fearless. If you can find a particularly delicious beetle and offer it to them they will take it from your hand. I have a photo of one trying to pull the laces off my fathers boots; red-ish, worm-coloured laces. Dad was wearing the boots at the time.

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    1. Fear of human beings is still not in the DNA of New Zealand's birds. After all man's arrival on those islands happened very recently in evolutionary terms.

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  14. How nice to have such a little feathered friend for company for part of your walk! The reservoir in the sun looks beautiful. There is something about reservoirs I find fascinating, probably because in most cases, there is an abandoned village underneath.

    Our robins look the same as yours. There are a few around here, and occasionally, I get to see one perching on a fence. One even came up on my kitchen windowsill for some seeds I had put out, but not yet this season.

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    1. I though that German robins would wear lederhosen.

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  15. I had never seen an American robin....looks like a blackbird that has had a swim in tomato soup!

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    1. I don't think that ornithologists would use such a simile Frances.

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  16. I have a theory that Robin's evolve from old gardeners. They stand on the handle of my fork when you are digging with your spade and say: "nay lad you're not doing it right".

    Apparently if you see three Robin's together it is very lucky. They could of course be Bristol City fans.

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    1. Or a Christmas dinner for a family of elves.

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  17. Excellent photos as always.
    Next Christmas, YP, you could use that last Robin photo as a basis for a personal Christmas card. With the aid of your computer and printer you could make your own cards too - so much nicer to receive than the mass produced ones.

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    1. I do like that last picture with the cheeky robin tilting his head. Perhaps I could photoshop in a little white beard, a Santa hat and a small sack of toys. Trouble is that printing off one's own Xmas cards tends to be more expensive than buying them from a shop.

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  18. Anonymous10:50 am

    Avian authority Sandy Toxteth tonight informed me that ten percent of robin deaths are because of attack by other robins. Lovely birds.

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    1. Similarly, domestic cats sit on people's laps as we stroke them but they are often out stalking or killing garden birds.

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