The European robin (affectionately known as robin redbreast) was voted the nation's favourite bird a few years ago, and it’s not very hard to see why! With his enchanting song and vibrant red chest, the robin has won all of our hearts, and it’s always a treat to spot one in the back garden.
The easiest way to attract a robin to your garden is to provide a source of food. Insects and invertebrates make up most of a robin’s diet, with seeds and fruit also eaten in winter. It is also helpful to supply a source of clean drinking water for robins.
If you’re hoping to attract robins to your garden, you’re likely reading this blog in the hope of enticing them to visit and stay with you in your garden.
Your garden will be even better for robins if you make it a home for their natural prey. Encourage invertebrates by allowing parts of the garden to grow wild. Planting trees and adding features like a log pile or compost heap will help too. These mini-beasts will provide food for robins and a host of other wildlife.
Mealworms are a delicious, high protein food enjoyed by all manner of garden birds. Different species of birds have varying diets; some birds are seed eaters, some insect, some fish, and some fruit – there are even some birds (such as peregrine falcons) that eat other birds!
What Do Robins Eat?
Robins feed on insects (especially beetles) and earthworms. You might notice one following you about as you dig up your garden hoping to pounce on the earthworms that come to the surface. Earthworms would be their no. 1 choice always, but if the ground gets particularly dry in summer, they are much less likely to be able to get to earthworms which bury deep to get available moisture, so it is good to supplement their food at this time. Probably the closest thing to natural earthworms which we can help out by supplying are live mealworms - which robins also love. With a similar protein and moisture content to earthworms, live mealworms are a very good alternative for robins to feed on. But you won't find mealworms in your garden, they need to be scattered on the grass or fed from a tall sided container for robins to find. Robins will also eat seeds, suet, crushed peanuts, sunflower hearts and raisins. They particularly love our Deluxe Robin Crumble™.
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Really Wild Bird Food supply a range of premium-quality, British-bred mealworms, so you can supply your garden birds with the essential nutrients they need to flourish. We offer both live and freeze-died mealworms and wax worms, so you're sure to find something to suit your feeding preferences.
Not only do mealworms have a delicious flavour that is irresistible to robins, they are also very high in protein, and a great source of energy. If you’d like to browse the range of mealworms and worms available from Really Wild Bird Food, check out the link below!
Mealworms and Worms
If you’d like to increase your odds of having robins come to visit, why not try feeding mealworms from a ground feeder or a bird table?
Ground Bird Feeders
READ MORE: Are Dried Mealworms Good for Birds?
