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| European Robin/Rougegorge familier Erithacus rubecula |
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| Fortunately for the homeowners in the area, the Robin hangs out in the cedars at the end of the block, meaning twitchers are relatively out of sight |
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| Dan using terrain to his advantage |
February 21, 2026, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Earth
Saturday last, I finally headed out to Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (The Shlag) to twitch the world-famous European Robin (Familiar Redthroat) with Dan. It was a brief encounter, after an extended wait in the frigid cold (-12 but felt colder in the stiff breeze). It was one of those ‘wait 20 minutes for 20 seconds with the bird’-type deals. Anyway, neat to see one so far from home.
Plenty of efforts have been made to keep the bird fed during the frigid spells of the past month, with at least 3 feeding stations set up inside the cedars. I was reminded of a European Robin that showed up in Seoul many moons ago, kept fat and happy by an endless supply of photog meal worms.
On the way out, we rescued an older American birder who we spotted wandering the streets far from the Robin. We gave him proper directions to the bird and drove him back to his wife who was waiting in their car many blocks away. Seems they got turned around with faulty directions. The fellowship of the dangling binoculars at work.
