American Robin on my doorstep at Eastbourne

 

American Robin

Eastbourne, Sussex

While we were starting our Norfolk tour with Marcus, reports came in from RBA of an American Robin at Eastbourne - just 30 minutes drive from my home.  Fortunately the bird is still there so I managed to get two trips down to Mill Road to see it.

• On Saturday 12th February I was fortunate enough to see the bird out in the open for a few seconds before it flew into the bush in the garden of number 33, where it stayed until I left an hour later.  The Robin was at the back of the bush and largely out of sight to the assembled birders.
• I returned next day, with Alison, to find the bird in the same bush but this time there were fewer birders and the views were quite good.  Again the bird showed a reluctance to fly and we left as the weather began to deteriorate.

All images courtesy of Alison Playle

Although this was a first sighting of an American Robin in the UK, it is not a "lifer"; I have seen this species lots of times in Virgiania, USA when Sue and I visited Adam and his family.

Year total - 143