Bait thieves

[Troydog]

You are right Vole, it does make sense. I was not quite so hospitable to the goosanders and cormos that paraded up and down the river.

Three quid plus is a lot of cash RBT, but I can make a pint of maggots last for four days fishing, sometimes longer. The key is in the ground bait bucket (in the picture) where hemp, molehill, breadcrumb, maybe some sweet corn and chopped red worms are accompanied by just a handful of maggots. At this time of year its a fairly stiff mix, squeezed so that it falls quickly through twelve /thirteen feet of water. The match boys often use prodigious amounts of bait including all sorts of expensive proprietary brands. Call me a cheap skate but I've never bought any of these products and probably never will.

Thank you for positive comments about the pictures gentlemen. Photography has never been one of my skill sets, but with these phones, its all very easy. Another lovely picture Harry - thank you.
And yes Reedling, the Robin was great company and as I loaded my gear onto my trolley when it was nearly dark, he was perched on the handle looking very fat and well fed......

[PeteD]

On the subject of our little friends I bought my wife this book last year. An absolutely fascinating read. An ideal book to read over the Christmas period.

[Duckett]

Lovely photos those. I still recall the first time, as a lad, when a Robin landed on my rod and sidled slowly up it until it was above my maggot pot, dropping into the rim to eat its fill. Seeing one never fails to make me smile.

The last two Springs, on a small lake I fish regularly, I’ve been lucky enough to discover that Reed Warblers are brave enough to pull the same trick once they get used to you being on the bank. Sadly, I’ve not managed a photograph yet!

[GhyllManor]

Brings a smile, enchanting little chaps!

[Vole]

What I really don't understand is how they know, even before they look like proper robins, that if they stand WAY too close to the most dangerous mammal for miles and cock their heads to one side, it will probably feed them.
From what evolutionarily advantageous behaviour did that spring?

[MarkG]

Legend has it their red breast comes from trying to pick the thorns out of the Crown on Jesus's head when he was on the cross. Daft I know but I always like the thought when I see a Robin. When I was a kid Mum used to bake a cake and leave it near an open window to cool every Sunday and a Robin used to fly in and sit on it and help itself. They love meal worms, put some out and almost guaranteed a robin will come round.

[Rod]

MarkG, my mrs spends an obsolute fortune on the birds, all to no avail, if she puts out mealworms, you can guarantee within minutes the garden is full of Starlings, and all the other birds don't get a look in, we do have a single Robin in the Yew hedge, but he seems to be surviving on bird seed, and the odd frozen red maggot, that I sneak him. There does seem to be a marked decline in small birds in my area, over the last five years or so, I'm really not sure what to put it down to, but we have had quite an increase in pet cats just lately, and since the dog past on, my garden is open territory for them, who knows? I do love feeding the Robins in the spring, when they are nesting and have young to rear, I like watching how many maggots they can get in their beaks in one go, and where I fish, if you ignore them they will find a close perch and screech at you till you take notice, but to me that is all part of fishing.
Rod

[Olly]

There is a bird called the Magpie Robin - exceedingly rare:-
""Seychelles Magpie Robin
The most endangered of the endemic birds, Seychelles Magpie Robin or Pi Santez in Creole, came close to extinction in the late twentieth century; in 1970 there were only about 25 surviving birds on one island (Fregate Island).""

Anyway I was fortunate to visit and see the birds some years ago. They follow or sit on the giant tortoises and catch and eat any insects disturbed. They also follow human visitors and if you kick up some leaves they are there like a shot. As Magpie infers they are black & white!

Now increasing in numbers due to very strong conservation measures and very much like our British Robin in its nature.

A recent finding is that the British Robin is very different to the Continental Robin which prefers forestry to houses and gardens!

[Tonytoned]

Great images of the Robin. In the last picture it's probably saying

"Give us yourvmaggots, our else!"