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Another new friend.

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Daisy

  • Sr. Member
Another new friend.
« on: December 05, 2013, 01:54:52 PM »
If anyone asks me what things I miss about England. One of the few things would be the garden robin.
Every where I lived, there was a garden robin following me around, keeping me company.
Even at work I had the company of the local robin.
It used to greet me, as soon as I got out of the car in the car park.
It knew that I had a packet of dried apricots in my pocket.
It would insist on some for breakfast, coffee break, lunch and going home time.
In the springtime, when it had babies, it wouldn't eat the piece of apricot, but would sit on my shoulder until I had bitten off 3 to 4 pieces of dried apricot for him. Then he would carefully line them up in his beak, and carry them off to his babies.

Since I have been in Crete, I knew there were robins around, but had never seen one in 5 years.
Until now.
This one must be living nearby. He has taken to following me as I work in the garden. I am delighted to see him, but I keep an eye out for the local cats as we work.


008 by Daisyincrete, on Flickr


010 by Daisyincrete, on Flickr


011 by Daisyincrete, on Flickr
Daisy :)
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Amateur gardener, who has gardened in Surrey and Cornwall, England, but now has a tiny garden facing north west, near the coast in north east Crete. It is 300 meters above sea level. On a steep learning curve!!! Member of both MGS and RHS

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Another new friend.
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2013, 05:44:44 PM »
What a friend!
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MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care
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MikeHardman

  • Hero Member
    • www.mikehardman.com
Re: Another new friend.
« Reply #2 on: December 10, 2013, 08:47:39 AM »
Lovely.
It is an excellent autumn-winter for robins in Cyprus, too. I hear them all around, wherever I happen to be in the countryside. I see them much less often - they seem to spend a lot of time in shrubbiness.
And they do, for me too, imbue the moment with a feeling of gardening/countryside in Britain.
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Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

Alice

  • Hero Member
Re: Another new friend.
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2013, 08:59:11 PM »
Delightful, Daisy.
Robins are supposed to be shy woodland birds in most of Europe but, for some reason, have taken to following British gardeners about, picking up insects from the disturbed soil. And even being hand-fed dried apricots!
On Paros (possibly Crete and Cyprus?) robins are winter visitors. I am not sure if this is generally the case in the Mediterranean region. I understand there are some breeding colonies as well. What are the experiences of other members? Have robins been spotted in the summer months?
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Amateur gardener who has gardened in north London and now gardens part of the year on the Cycladic island of Paros. Conditions: coastal, windy, annual rainfall 350mm, temp 0-35 degrees C.

David Dickinson

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Re: Another new friend.
« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2013, 10:53:16 PM »
Robins are in Rome all the year round but it is at this time of year that they are staking out their territory and singing so beautifully at 4 o'clock in the morning.

It is interesting to think that the birds in your garden Daisy are from the UK and are bringing their habits with them. I could never imagine a Roman robin being so bold. Then again I could never imagine a UK great tit being as bold as those in Berlin botanic gardens. They perched on my hand to take food.

In a sad way I hope the robins (and all the other birds) continue to keep their distance from us. They will be much safer that way given mankind's capacity for cruelty to its own and the other species we share the planet with. :(
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I have a small garden in Rome, Italy. Some open soil, some concrete, some paved. Temperatures in winter occasionally down to 0°C. Summer temperatures up to 40°C in the shade. There are never watering restrictions but, of course, there is little natural water for much of June, July and August.
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John J

  • Hero Member
Re: Another new friend.
« Reply #5 on: December 11, 2013, 07:25:16 AM »
Alice, here in Cyprus robins are listed as winter visitors, it seems they have never been observed to breed here. Sadly, over the years I have been here I have seen very few robins.
Further to David's comment songbirds here are still being caught in large numbers in mist nets and on 'lime sticks' (twigs coated with a sticky paste made from the fruit of Cordia myxa. They are placed in bushes and when small birds perch on them they can't take off again.). They are then pickled and eaten whole as a 'delicacy'. A practice that is highly illegal but, unfortunately, highly lucrative.
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Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

David Dickinson

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Re: Another new friend.
« Reply #6 on: December 11, 2013, 10:40:41 AM »
Further to John's comment, in Italy illegal trapping is widespread. In the north it is for food and song birds are offered for sale on the menus of a lot of restaurants. In the south a lot of trapping is for finches to be sold as cage birds. For anybody interested in combating these illegal trades in Italy, you might like to contact or join LIPU - the equivalent of the RSPB in Italy. Here is a link to an article in English on this matter but it does contain a photo of one of the Robins which didn't make it to southern Europe. http://www.lipu-uk.org/Trapping.htm

We could all play our part by refusing song birds offered on menus and informing the local authorities every time we see them on offer in a restaurant.
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I have a small garden in Rome, Italy. Some open soil, some concrete, some paved. Temperatures in winter occasionally down to 0°C. Summer temperatures up to 40°C in the shade. There are never watering restrictions but, of course, there is little natural water for much of June, July and August.
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