Fledgling

Here's a fledged robin (Erithacus rubecula) in the garden. Note the primary and secondary feathers and the fluffy look — no sign of the red breast yet. The gestation period of robins is a fortnight. It has been fed in the nest by both parents for a week. After fledging it is fed by the father while the mother starts another brood.

The overall survival rate of robins born in April is 53 per cent. If this little fellow survives, he will become independent after 16-24 days. Robins eat insects, seeds and fruit. As insectivores they help to prevent overpopulation of insects. As seed and fruit eaters, they help to spread plants when the seeds are dispersed in their droppings.

Robins have learnt to be relatively tame in gardens. Sometimes they will even learn to trust a person enough to feed from the hand. They are often the earliest voices in the dawn chorus.

Bees active

With the weather cooler than a typical April, some of the early pollinators have been subdued. There are some moths and a few butterflies (Small Tortoiseshell) but you are most likely to see bees — they will be flying even on a cool, overcast morning, whereas the butterflies greately prefer warm midday sunshine.

Here's a fairly common bee — Bombus lucorum (the White-tailed Bumblebee). It's feeding on the white flowers of Pulmonaria (a member of the Boraginaceae family) in a garden on the road. This bee visits a wide range of flowers. The queens emerge in February; the workers don't appear till the summer.