PUTMAN AND ROBIN

November 2014, Tony Putman encountered a wild robin, which would change his life! Tony named him Robin and he became the inspiration for Tony to learn photography, set up his social media accounts and share his encounters with the robins with the world.

Before Tony knew it, Robin was recognising him as an individual and taking food from his hand. And within a month of getting his first camera, he was shooting fully in manual mode. Tony was learning a lot about his new friend as well as photography and posting his photos on his personal Facebook page. In summer, after Robin had his young, he came to say ‘goodbye’ and Tony never saw him again. He felt a strong urge to share the time he had with Robin with a wider audience. That was when he decided to set up a Facebook page devoted specifically to my photos and stories of him. That was the beginning of ‘Putman and Robin’.

Before Tony met Bob, he’d befriended and taken photographs of other robins: George, Star, Pudding, Faith, Hope and Charity. They were all very different in personality. Some of them were more bold than the others and were taking the food from his hand and happily follow him about., the others were more shy. Tony took hundreds if not thousands of photos of them and his photography skills had improved significantly. Unfortunately, none of them stuck around for long after spring.

Tony met Bob in November 2019. He was perched in the plum tree which has been the territory of many robins he have photographed over the years. Bob is the only robin to return after raising his young during the spring. During the summer months there’s plenty of food and generally Tony don’t really see the robins during these months as they tend to stay hidden, especially during the moulting season. Bob did disappear for about a month or so, and then to my surprise he returned. “When a robin appears a loved one is near” the saying goes. Bob’s timing couldn’t have been any better.

Tony have taken a lot photos and videos of Bob and had our story shared by national and international television channels and radio stations. Bob was much loved by ‘Putman and Robin’ social media followers where I also was sharing the live videos of him during lockdown. Tony was devastated when he disappeared, He’d known him for over three years, but our story still lives in his book ‘Bob the Robin a love letter to Britain’s favourite bird, which was published in October 2024. As well as during and after his friendship with Bob, there were also other robins which he got to know, all of them being introduced to and cherished by my followers.

Apart from robins, Tony also got to know Vixen the Fox and Dave the Crow. He met Vixen during 2020. She quickly learnt to trust me. He used a distinctive call so she knew it’s him. He was enjoying watching, studying and photographing her. Tony completely respected that she was a wild animal. She was also incredibly intelligent and more than capable of looking after herself. Once again, BBC had shared his story, this time it was about Vixen and me. Dave was living in the same place as Vixen and the pair become a regular feature in his life during the time he had known them. Dave is still around and Tony quite often ‘bump’ into him on his walks.

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