Robin Scrutches

‘Scrutchbuttocks and Dusters’ are lurking in the shrubs and bushes of our garden in Sussex – my long gone grandfather ‘Busty’ Harris had a fine descriptive turn of phrase – with a number of words which as a youngster I thought were real, but now realize he probably made up.

He was referring of course to the scruffy looking versions of our garden birds which can sometimes be glimpsed as late summer approaches. They seem almost ashamed of their appearance and are certainly more camera shy than their springtime showy selves.

I’m not sure that the two pictures are of the same robin, but they are almost certainly from the same brood – using the same territory and having the same habits - but they were taken months apart. The big difference is the moult or molt - feathers have to be replaced as believe it or not they do wear out, and new ones have to be grown – the colours become less saturated and the quality of the dress generally more ‘scruffy’.

Many people cut down on their feeding programme in the height of summer, but this is just when the birds need an extra boost – it takes energy to grow new feathers, and energy takes food so keep up the good work! Robins are active little fellows and enjoy sparring with their siblings often while trying to monopolize a food source – so spacing out your feeders can be a good idea.

Of course it is not a feature confined to Robins – keep an eye out and you’ll notice yellowy/grey Blue Tits – speckly Blackbirds – and flutterings of birds who look as if they have collected their latest clothes from the Church Jumble Sale.

It’ll pass and we’ll soon have them back to looking their best - trust me ‘Scrutchbuttocks and Dusters’ are a transient stage – they’ll soon be back to their best again……..