Robin overtaken as UK’s most beloved garden bird, says Deeping St Nicholas-based Vine House Farm

The robin has been overtaken as the nation’s most beloved garden bird, according to study by a leading bird food supplier.

Deeping St Nicholas-based Vine House Farm used a combination of search data obtained from Ahrefs and Google Trends to discover the new highflyer.

And the nation’s current favourite is… the blackbird.

“Last April, distraught viewers launched a petition, pleading for the BBC to save Autumwatch, which has been cancelled this year for the first time since it began almost two decades ago,” a statement read.

“At Vine House Farm, we believe this to be a great loss, and are fighting to keep a passion for wildlife-watching alive for generations to come.”

While the blackbird is number one with 74 000 searches each month in the UK, the wren sits second (43,000) with the starling third (41,000).

The robin is number four in the list (41,000) ahead of the magpie (40,000) in fifth, blue tit (29,000) in sixth and goldfinch (29,000) in seventh.

Completing the top ten are the crow (26,000) in eighth, the great tit (20,000) in tenth and jackdaw (19,000) in tenth.

“Blackbirds are easy to identify,” said bird expert Lucy Tailor.

“Mature male birds are black with bright yellow bills and eye rings. Their female counterparts, meanwhile, can be distinguished by their brown plumage and mottling on their breasts.

“Blackbirds are one of the first songs to establish the dawn chorus every morning and one of the last to continue singing at night.”

Lucy says the best way to attract a blackbird to your garden is to offer a range of foods.

“Blackbirds stay in the UK all year round and will eat a diverse range of food,” she continued.

“They are omnivorous. Try feeding them oats, suet pellets or live mealworms.

“Blackbirds will also eat sultanas, but these must be soaked in water first.

“Blackbirds will eat berries and fruit in trees and bushes but are ground feeders other than this, so will not feed from hanging tube feeders.

“Instead, place a feeding tray on the ground, or scatter food in an open area.”

Vine House Farm, a leading supplier of organis bird food for almost 60 years, used a combination of analytics software Google Trends and Ahrefs to identify the most commonly searched garden birds each month.

What do you think? Post your comment below or email duncan.browne@iliffepublishing.co.uk