Epic traveller back on our shores
Hollywood razzle-dazzle has long seen filmmakers stretching reality – and maybe none more so than in that all-time Disney favourite Mary Poppins.
The scene where the magical super-nanny, played by Julie Andrews, sings A Spoonful of Sugar accompanied by a warbling robin is one of Tinseltown’s iconic bloopers.
Supposedly set in Edwardian London, the animatronic bird twittering away as Mary tidies her young charges’ bedrooms is the American robin, a variety of thrush more at home in Beverly Hills than the streets around Primrose Hill.
Indeed, American robins are more akin to the Old World fieldfare, and are perched on a separate branch of the avian evolutionary tree from the much-loved bird of Christmas card fame.
Early settlers to New England, obviously impressed by these striking thrushes with their proud, upright stance and brick-red wash across the breast, were reminded of the endearing little bird they had left back across the Atlantic.
American robins can be found across a vast swathe of Canada and the United States, with birds heading to the southern states and into Mexico when the perishing cold of winter strikes. These seasonal wanderings are recognised in its scientific name – Turdus migratorius – which acknowledges their ability to perform remarkable feats of endurance, some even completing incredible journeys across to the UK.
Since the first one arrived on Lundy Island in 1952, at least 28 American robins have made it to our shores. I was lucky to see a female American robin in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, back in 2004, although the unfortunate bird was eventually killed by a sparrowhawk.
Hopefully, the latest individual to take up winter residency here will fare more favourably.
Over recent weeks, a procession of birdwatchers have enjoyed up close and personal views of a young American robin feeding voraciously on garden berry bushes in Eastbourne, Sussex. Hospitable residents have raised more than £2,000 for their local foodbank from delighted birdwatchers happy to pay for the views.
One flew across the Atlantic in 2004 only to be eaten by a hawk