Beady eye

Dunnocks or Hedge Sparrows are ground feeders, so this one was not waiting for a space on the feeders amongst the Tits and Finches, it was watching to see what bits were dropping onto the ground beneath. Look large to see a beady eye.

Dunnocks spend most of their time scuttling under the hedgerows and are just the right colours for this. They feed mainly on insects, spiders and worms, although in the Winter months they will eat seeds and berries. A couple of weeks ago we went to a lecture about bird territories and it was suggested that the reason Robins and Dunnocks don’t get on with each other is that they belong to completely different families and are natural enemies. It is true that the Dunnock is the only lowland member of the Accentor family; the rest are Alpine birds. However, possibly a more approachable reason is that the Robin and the Dunnock have similar diets and, in the Winter when food supplies are low or in the breeding season, Robins will chase Dunnocks away quite ferociously.

We have yet to see this behaviour, but will be watching the two birds quite carefully in the future!