Garden wildlife expert Sean McMenemy warns of danger to robins in cold weather and offers top tips to help them survive

A POPULAR garden bird commonly associated with Christmas may be in danger due to cold weather, a wildlife expert is warning.

Robins can use up to 10% of their body weight to keep warm on a single winter night, so unless it can replenish its reserves every day, a cold spell can prove fatal.

This is particularly hard for them in winter as daylight foraging is reduced to just eight hours or less, compared to over 16 hours during the summer.

British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) research has shown that small birds must spend over 85% of daylight hours just foraging for food to be able to consume enough calories to survive the long night.

Without supplementary bird feeding in gardens, up to half of the robin population could die of cold and starvation.

Robins are deemed particularly susceptible as they remain faithful to their gardens no matter what the weather.

Sean McMenemy, garden wildlife expert and director of Ark Wildlife, is providing an insight into how the public can help robins in their gardens this Christmas with some simple tips.

How to make your winter garden robin-friendly

1. Food

The best foods for robins are:

• Fatty foods like suet pellets

• Dried fruit

• Mealworms and calci worms (these are especially beneficial because they are insectivores)

• Special high protein robin blends

• Peanuts (shredded or crushed)

• Meaty kitchen scraps

• Mild cheese

• Cake and biscuit crumbs

2. Shelter

During icy spells, birds cluster together to share their warmth.

They often use nest boxes as winter shelters, so putting up robin nest boxes can make a huge difference. These will be used as night roosting sites and places for nesting in the spring.

Place nest boxes at least 2m from dense vegetation in order to prevent attacks from predators.

3. Water

Place plenty of water sources in the garden.

Bird tables make a big difference to the survival rate of robins in urban and suburban areas.

Prevent water from freezing by placing a ping pong ball in a bird bath. Alternatively, ice free for bird baths slows the freezing process down to -4°C keeping water liquid for longer.

4. Rewilding

It’s worth ensuring that your garden isn’t too pristine or tidy. Some wild undergrowth will encourage the proliferation of insects and help robins, and other birds, find food this winter.