Adorable footage of unlikely friendship between local man and robin goes viral

Adorable footage of the most unlikely of friendships between a Warwickshire man and a robin has gone viral. The incredible slow motion video shows how the robin, nicknamed 'Bobbin', flies and lands on a pot held by Rob Hall.

These videos, which the local resident uploaded onto Facebook, have been viewed tens of thousands of times. In fact, he has described the response to them as 'bonkers'.

The Kenilworth resident handfeeds the garden bird every day after it took just 48 hours for him to tame the visitor to the communal garden at his flat. The product designer used a jar of mealworms to first entice his feathered friend but now his feathered friend comes back every day.

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"He's a real little character and every morning I get up and he's there outside waiting to be fed," he explained. "I just thought I'd film these sweet interactions I was having and the response online has gone bonkers.

"Lots of people have got in touch saying they are going to try it themselves and it's just lovely these little videos have made so many people happy."

It was during the Covid pandemic that Rob said his interest in birds quickly became a part-time hobby. "You started hearing many more birds about and I much prefer to be outdoors than stuck inside so I started taking more of an interest in them," explained

"I soon noticed the same birds visiting and this year I thought I'd see if I could tame this robin who began coming to see me each day around a couple of weeks ago.

"I live in a flat and we have a lovely communal garden. It just started with putting some meal worms in a little ramekin next to me on the floor about 6ft away.

"Eventually he popped over and started eating them, so I moved it to the bench and then before you know it he hopped up on there sitting next to me too.

"Within 48 hours he was eating it out of a pot I was holding in my hand. It was remarkable really how soon he started to really trust me."

He then decided to document his new friendship. "I then started recording the slow motion videos on my iPhone 8 and uploading it to a community Facebook group," he said.

"The videos have been viewed tens of thousands of times now and loads of people say they want to try the same now. I think I might have to warn all the pet shops in Kenilworth to stock up on bird feed," he joked.

"They move so fast, I never knew they tuck themselves up almost like a rugby ball as they dive until I watched the footage back. It's beautiful to see.

"I just want to make sure I'm not adversely affecting his ability to find food himself by making him rely on me too much. But it's fantastic he is so comfortable around me."

Now he has given his new friend a name - one he thinks could end up as his own nickname.
"I've started calling him Bobbin," he explained.

"With my name being Rob, a few of my mates have cottoned on to that too, so I won't be surprised if that ends up being my new nickname."

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