Racist Robins

Racist

Now, most people think of Robins as nice cheeky little birds that hang around on spade handles in back gardens and make their living from their annual appearance fee on Christmas cards, but what isn't widely known is that Robins are really racist. I've witnessed this first-hand over the past few days. Scilly has a healthy population of resident Robins, but currently is being hit by a wave of Eastern European migrants. All these poor, tired migrants want to do is to spend a bit of time to rest and recover from their long trip, feed up and be back on their way, migrating south in a couple of days. But NO! Those nasty resident racist Robins don't like it. I had a taste of this a few weeks ago when I was birding on the Norfolk coast during a good easterly wind and I've seen it time after time, day after day since I arrived on Scilly – migrant Robins being mercilessly harangued, harassed and pursed by resident Robins. I don't know what their problem is. Perhaps they think the migrant Robins are going to steel their Christmas card appearance fees, perhaps by appearing for less than the resident Robins charge, or perhaps the resident Robins have some unfounded distrust of migrant Robins, thinking that they will rape and pillage their beautiful and fair land, but whatever the case, the resident Robins just won't leave the migrant Robins alone. I'm sure the resident Robins vote for RNP (Robin National Party) or at least UKRIP (United Kingdom Robin Independence Party).
Rant over.

Today was a bit slow on The Scillies with no new rarities turning up. A couple of Lapland Buntings on the golf course were nice along with a Red-breasted Flycatcher in Holy Vale and 2 Little Buntings at Carn Friars again. Other 'filler' species such as Ring Ouzel, Pied and Spotted Fly, Yellow Wagtail and Firecrest made the day acceptable. Probably the biggest highlight of the day was the Apple Strudel and vanilla ice-cream at the Countryhouse Café for lunch – yum!


Photos, from top to bottome: Yellow Wagtail, Little Bunting, Lapland Bunting (2), Small Copper butterfly, Red-breasted Flycatcher (2)