Robin photographed at Rousse [ROU] on 11/1/2013 Photo: © Simon Murfitt (visit site)

The Robin is a common resident and can be found in most habitats across the islands. It has always been common in Guernsey and Sark but Dobson remarks both he and other naturalists visiting Alderney between 1923 and 1946 only found 1-2 pairs of birds.

It was recorded as breeding in every square of the 1989-91 breeding bird census and is now common and widepsread on the other main islands. Birds can be found breeding in gardens, wooded valleys, in coastal scrub and in hedges around agricultural land. Local birds seem to be sedentary as no bird ringed during the breeding season has been recovered outside the island on which it was ringed.

In autumn there is a large passage of Robins through the Bailiwick and birds from northern and eastern countries pass through the islands to wintering grounds further south. Regular ringing at sites across the island has shown that the passage starts at the beginning of September and continues through until at least the first half of November. Passage is protracted but the mean date for migrants from recoveries to be passing through the Bailiwick is the 12 October (± 5.35 days SE), suggesting that the bulk of birds pass through during the first three weeks of October.

Most birds are juveniles and there have been several recoveries of birds ringed in the Bailiwick which show that Robins in autumn come from a wide area. Most have been ringed abroad either on autumn passage or during the breeding season in France, Belgium and Germany.

The birds passing through the islands in autumn tend to winter in France, Spain and Portugal although a few British-ringed birds have been recovered in the island in winter. Although there are fewer recoveres in the spring the pattern is for an early return with some birds returning in February and March. There is one notable recovery of a young birds ringed in autumn at Rige, Latvia in October XX being found wintering in a Guernsey garden a few months later.