A Gardener’s Best Friend: The Story of Bob the Robin

Warm your heart with this remarkable story of friendship between a robin and a gardener, as told to Sara Whatley

Voted the UK’s ‘national bird’ in 2015, it’s not uncommon to spot a robin in your garden. They are a welcome sight for many, known and loved for their sociability and curiosity. They are feisty little creatures, fiercely protecting their territory from invaders and sometimes engaging in ferocious turf wars, especially before the spring nesting season.

Any keen gardener can tell you about their own friendly robin, who will come and inspect their work, inquisitively watching and helping themselves to the freshly turned grubs and bugs, head bobbing and beady black eyes alert.

It’s no wonder then that a robin captured the interest, and eventually heart, of Sussex gardener and wildlife photographer Tony Putman. Their story gathered a huge following on social media as it captivated people around the world, and eventually Tony decided to tell his story in full; his book, Bob The Robin, a love letter to Britain’s favourite bird, was published in October this year.

Tony grew up in Edenbridge in an end-of-terrace house backing onto fields, woodland and ponds, so the outdoors and natural world were innate to him. His father was a gardener and as a young boy Tony would help him cut the grass for local retired people. “We got £5 a lawn and I got to talk to the old people there, it was great. I made up my mind to be a gardener before I left school,” he said. Academia was not his strong suit, admitted Tony as we spoke. He was much happier pursuing practical interests, being outdoors, and doing manual work. So, it’s curious that he felt so compelled to document his journey with the robin, and eventually write a book about it. So, how did it all start?

“I was working in a beautiful big garden in my hometown of Edenbridge and I had just got a new phone with a good camera on it. This robin started to follow me around, so he naturally became my subject,” explained Tony. This was in the autumn of 2014. He posted a photo of the robin onto his Facebook page and a friend commented that robins will take food from your hand if you are patient enough.

Low and behold, Tony and the robin, aptly named Robin, became friends. As his interest in photography developed, Tony’s mum gave him a DSLR camera that had been gathering dust on her shelf, and slowly but surely Tony’s relationship with Robin grew – as did his photography skills.

This was the first robin that Tony befriended, and he felt a dreadful loss when early in the following summer, Robin departed to pastures new. Over the years that followed, there were other robins that formed friendships with Tony, but sadly they all left. Each one was special in its own way, and eventually Tony found that losing his friends this way was too upsetting. To avoid this painful pattern, he vowed not to befriend another; he was happy just him and his trusty dog Pup, getting on with life.

Tony had got Pup, a border collie, as a small puppy, and he loyally accompanied Tony to work every day. ‘One of his favourite games was to attack me when I was mowing’ he said in his book. Then along came Saa, a rescue dog that Tony could not resist. ‘Saa’s energy brought new life into Pup, and the two of them have a wonderful time playing together,’ he wrote.

On the 5 November 2019, Tony noticed a new robin sitting on the branch of a plum tree in the Edenbridge garden. He snapped a quick photo, as he had his camera in hand, and carried on working. Tony was still feeling bruised from losing the other robins and had no desire to develop a new friendship. But the robin had other ideas and was persistent. “He was so relaxed,” said Tony. “I just wanted to take photos of him, but he wouldn’t leave me alone.

“I was in his territory for 8 hours a day, I just became part of the furniture to him. He trusted me,” he recalled. When Covid broke out in 2020, Tony found himself with more time on his hands, and started to delve further into the world of social media – something he previously had no real interest in. His followers voted to name the robin Bob, and Tony started posting pictures of Bob two or three times a day, as well as making videos of the little bird. “I was learning as I went,” he said.

Inevitably, their friendship flourished. For over three years Tony and Bob spent many days together, as he worked in the garden, and even when Tony wasn’t working, he often went to visit Bob. “I got to go home when the weather was really bad, but robins must endure it. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was OK.” And so did all Bob’s followers on social media; by this time the little robin had struck a chord with so many – Bob had become a bit of a social media sensation!

There are so many touching and poignant moments in Tony’s book, such as when Bob is suffering after losing his partner and Tony strokes his sun- warmed red breast. The relationship between the two of them is uplifting to read about and unavoidably you become thoroughly invested in their comradeship. As Tony explained to me, “We were in it together”.

But of course, the unavoidable happened, Bob disappeared one day. “I still remember the last time I saw him as I was driving away,” said Tony. Writing the book, after Bob had gone, was “depressing at times”, but it also provided a therapeutic trip down memory lane.

Robins were not the only animals that Tony befriended and photographed during this time; there was Vixen the fox and her friend Dave the cheeky crow, who hopped around Vixen and sometimes pulled her tail! Tony and his wife Joanna noticed the unlikely duo when out walking in woodland with Pup and Saa.

They observed the fox watching them from the bushes, so Tony threw some dog biscuits for her. She gobbled them up. Tony returned the next morning, and then most evenings as well. Eventually Vixen was taking dog biscuits from his hand and trusted him enough to curl up next to him and snooze for five to ten minutes – at this point she had a den of hungry cubs to nurture. ‘It was as if I was her protector, a safe place where she could recharge before returning to her lively brood,’ wrote Tony.

As we talked Tony revealed his passion behind writing this book, his love of nature, and the desire to share his wonderful stories of animal and human friendships. He was told at school he would never write a book – people like him, who came from humble beginnings, didn’t do that sort of thing! But he did – and wants to show others that they can too. Sheer determination, perseverance and a deep love and understanding of his subject have helped him along the way, and he is justly proud of what he has achieved.

As for the robins? Watch this space, you never know who is flitting around the garden ready to embark on a journey of unique and wonderful friendship.