
Most of this
year’s speckled juveniles have now moulted into adult plumage and are
indistinguishable for their parents. The adults have, for the most part,
completed their annual change of feathers, and so we will soon be awash with
perfect robins. They’re still not really showing themselves, but will shortly
begin to establish territories, and be one of the most prominent birds in the
land.
We generally
think of our little robins as residents, but many European robins are long
distance travellers. Towards the end of autumn, Scandinavian birds en route
for southern Europe, briefly join our local robins. When weather conditions are
suitable, big falls can be encountered in the early morning, raising the
adrenaline of ringers, and swelling the number of robins in our gardens. They
don’t stay long, and soon relative peace returns apart from the sound of
residential warfare providing the principal sound of the countryside in winter.
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