Dutch Christmas card featuring a Robin

Dear Readers, it has been pointed out to me that I was rather hasty in asserting that only people in Britain love the Robin, and that in Europe it is not held in such affection. One of my readers,  London Details (who has a wonderful blog here ) pointed out that the Robin can be found on Christmas cards from the Netherlands (as in the image above), Germany and Austria, and that people cherish the bird just as much in these countries as we do here. Indeed, just a little research found Robins on cards from a variety of places.

German Christmas Robins

French Christmas card

What do these cards tell us? Well, they tell me that the British are not alone in their love of the Robin, and that when I blithely use the phrase ‘on the Continent’ I should stop first to consider that Europe is a very big, diverse place, containing many people who care for their wildlife as much as I do. Whilst there are people who shoot songbirds, I would hazard that there are many, many more who are welcoming them into their gardens and providing food for them. We need to be working together to preserve what’s left of our plants and animals, and sweeping generalisations are not helpful. Many thanks to my readers for their thought-provoking contributions, and for sharing their knowledge and experience.