Schoolgirl, seven, who has tiny robin literally eating out of her hand

By Daily Mail Reporter

Bird in the hand: Lauren Newton has forged a friendship with a robin


They are among the boldest of garden birds.

But there's a robin that appears to be so fearless that it has forged a close bond with a girl of seven.

The bird waits for Lauren Newton to come home from class every day - and has done for the last six months. Then it flies straight to her hand as she walks into the garden with a fist-full of birdfood.

Lauren who lives in Timperley, near Altrincham, Cheshire, said: 'He seems to like me more than anyone else. When you go to school, when you walk, he follows a little bit.

'When you come back from school he's waiting on the garden fence.'


Tame: The robin waits for Lauren to get home from school every day


Her mother Helen, 41, a senior hospital worker, said the robin becomes jealous when Lauren feeds a dormouse that also comes into the garden.

She added: 'It's so friendly it has almost become part of the family. We think it has a nest in our garden and has found a mate.'

He then sits on her forefinger feasting on his staple diet of bird seed and mealworms.

The boldness of the robin, dubbed the ‘gardeners' friend’, has stunned Lauren’s family, who live in Timperley, near Altrincham, Greater Manchester.

Lauren, a pupil at Cloverleaf Primary School in Timperley, said: ‘My dad bought some mealworms and he was offering them to the robin.

‘He put his hand up and then it flew on his hand and then he lifted his hand up and the robin sat on his hand.

‘Then I got to do it. It didn't tickle too much. It was fun and it seems to like me more than anyone else.

‘He's my friend and my friends at school know about him and are amazed at what the robin does.’

Her mother Helen added: ‘The robin's always there but I have to say even we're surprised at the friendship it has developed with Lauren.

‘He's so friendly he has almost become part of the family. We think it has a nest up in a tree in our garden and has found a mate, a female, so chicks could be on the way.

‘Lauren loves animals and also feeds a dormouse that comes into the garden but the robin gets jealous when he sees this.

‘Lauren's dad is a keen bird watcher and I think he has instilled a love of animals in Lauren.’

Bird experts say robins are relatively unafraid of people and like to come close when anyone is digging soil to look out for earthworms and other food freshly turned up.

A spokesman for the RSPB said: ‘It's very impressive that Lauren knows so much about birds and we encourage children to learn about wildlife.

‘Robins are one of the more approachable of the garden birds. They're quite comfortable with human company.’


source: dailymail