EUROPEAN ROBIN

The European Robin was a bit like a welcome wagon of the bird world to me while visiting Great Britain. It’s inquisitive, charming and seems to have no social anxiety around humans.

         I had anticipated meeting a European Robin for many years before I actually had the chance to. From the days that I read “The Secret Garden,” by Frances Hodgson Burnett, I knew I’d fall in love with this charismatic chap. In that wonderful childhood story, the lead character, Mary, is actually helped to come out of her shell by a friendly Robin in the garden. And they do love gardens, especially if someone is turning over some new ground – they are right there beside you, quick to gobble up anything edible that’s been upturned with your shovel.

     The times that I’ve seen them, they will actually come closer to you as if they were people watchers and we were the spectacles. Just like a birdwatcher would do to see birds close-up, the Robins slowly flit closer to you. And don’t they pose in the cutest places? The one above is on a part of the wall of the Eilean Donan Castle, and the one posing in the picture below has chosen the perfect scrollwork in this fancy gate at Inverness to complement his features.

   I adore seeing our North American Robins herald the arrival of spring, but I have to say this European Robin is one British chap I think I’ve grown to love just as much. If you’re a birdwatcher who is a bit obsessed about your life list, and flit around seeing how many new birds you can see when you visit a country, make this bird the exception. Stop and watch it a while, enjoy its antics, and perhaps it will even approach you!