Robin rings in festive season by taking up residence in St Michael's Mead resident's Christmas wreath and activating doorbell cam
Jackie Williamson kept wondering why her newly-installed Ring video doorbell was activating when there was nobody at the door.
It was only when she watched back the footage that she discovered a robin had taken up residence in the hand-crafted Christmas wreath on the front door of her Bishop's Stortford home, positioned over the camera, and was flitting in and out during December's snowy weather.
The delightful red-breasted feathered friend found the decoration the perfect shelter during the freezing temperatures.
Jackie, who lives with her family in The Shearers on St Michael's Mead, said that every year she makes her own wreath using cuttings of trees and plants from her garden. "I go out with a pair of secateurs and chop away at various bits, so it's all natural and then I add a few dried oranges.
"I hung it up, and then a couple of days after, the doorbell cam, which monitors movement, kept activating. I kept going to the door and there was no-one there. I thought maybe the wreath was affecting it, being blown in the wind, or someone was coming to the door and kept ringing it.
"It was only when I looked back that there was my little robin friend. I think he was trying to eat the dehydrated oranges. In the end I put some food in there for him."
Jackie said that the robin's visit brought back memories of her late father, Peter Roberts.
"My dad died over 10 years ago and whenever there's a robin nearby I always think of my dad - I thought 'This is my dad and he wants to come in!' Every year I buy my mum, Maureen, a robin of some description, ceramic or glass, and she has lots of them now, so I'll have to tell her about this.
"I saved the video and showed it to a friend, who said I must send it to the Indie as it's the nicest story!"
As for the robin, it is still nearby. "Although I took the wreath down yesterday (Monday Jan 2), I'm certain he lives in the hedges outside the front of the house. He's often out the front," said Jackie.
Robins are known to be fiercely territorial and often claim a garden as their own. According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), robin begin their courtship in January, ahead of the breeding season in March.
"Most nests are located on or near the ground in hollows, nooks and crannies, climbing plants, hedge banks, tree roots, piles of logs and any other situations which provide a fully concealed cavity," says the RSPB website.
"If a nest box is provided to attract robins, it needs to be open-fronted and placed in a hidden location in a climber or other such vegetation.
"Robins are famous for nesting in all kinds of unlikely locations, including sheds, kettles, boots, hanging baskets, coat pockets, under car bonnets, in farm machinery, even on boats in daily use."
