The lovely story of a scruffy robin from Llantwit Major who brought joy to thousands of people

Emily Price

A woman dubbed “The Bird Whisperer of Llantwit Major” has described the lovely story of an unusually scruffy robin that has brought joy to thousands of people.

In March 2020, just as the first lockdown was announced, Jackie Swift was watching the birds in her garden when a disheveled little robin shaped like a fuzzy brown pom-pom appeared in her bird bath.

Jackie was instantly captivated, going on to snap over 3000 beautiful photos of the unkempt bird she named ‘Mr Scruffy’ as he raised chicks in her garden hedge.

Whilst the people of Wales were ordered to stay at home, Jackie opened a window into Scruffy’s world by posting the lovely images she had snapped online.

Robins are well known for their distinctive reddish-orange breast, sleek brown back, white belly and dark beak.

Puff-ball

But Scruffy’s comically fluffed up feathers that stuck outwards permanently set him apart from other robins.

The little puff-ball of a bird went on to gain a fan club of thousands of avid Scruffy watchers who are still enjoying photos of him today.

Jackie said: “I first saw him in my bird bath outside my kitchen when the first lockdown began – and I just laughed at his scruffiness.

“A few days later I was throwing sultanas on the lawn for some visiting blackbirds when he returned.

“This scruffy little robin kept swooping down and pinching the sultanas and I realised that he must be nesting nearby.

“I looked up what foods robins like and ended up buying some mealworms for him.”

In the coming weeks, the messy bundle of feathers started to become braver, allowing Jackie to take close up images of his unusual plump plumage.

Despite living very close to Llantwit Major’s high street, Jackie’s garden offers a wonderful habitat for Welsh wildlife with plenty of trees, hedges, a bee garden, a bark area and a large lawn.

Although robins can be shy and wary whilst living in woodlands and rural areas, they can become quite tame in gardens.

As Scruffy became braver, Jackie’s son – out of work because of the pandemic – teamed up with his Mam to help encourage the bird closer for photos.

Jackie said: “I think during lockdown Scruffy actually saved my mental health, this little robin who kept coming back.

“I’d wake up in the morning and Scruffy would be there, he would fly down to the conservatory and wait for me.”

Photographer

65-year-old Jackie was working two days a week at a supermarket during lockdown – but had previous experience as a photographer so had all the right equipment and lenses.

She said: “I used to take photos of weddings and landscapes. I had never taken photos of birds before.

“I would lie on the grass with my camera and my son would throw down meal worms to encourage Scruffy to come closer.”

It can be tricky to identify whether a robin is a male or female bird based on appearance alone – but there are behavioural clues during the breeding season.

Robins can pair up as early as January and the males will sing to defend their territory even in winter.

Despite their cute appearance often used on Christmas cards – they are aggressively territorial.

Robins can have more than one brood a year with the male often taking care of fledglings whilst the female starts on the next brood.

Jackie says she thought Scruffy was a male because he took on a more significant role in caring for the fledglings after they left the nest.

This is typical of male robins – with the females often occupied with building the nest and sitting on the eggs.

Although Scruffy was more than happy to pose for pictures, his mate was far more camera shy.

Jackie says that although she was able to take thousands of close up shots of Scruffy – she was only ever able to take three images of his smooth looking partner.

A few weeks after Jackie began taking photos of Scruffy, Spring Watch’s Chris Packham launched the Self-Isolating Bird Club Facebook page crewed by thousands of nature enthusiasts.

Jackie began posting her images of Scruffy to the page – and users fell in love with him.

Shortly after this, she launched Scruffy’s own Instagram account where she was able to share the lovely images she had captured of her garden companion.

Jackie said: “I called the account ‘Scruffy the robin’ and it quickly gained over 12,000 followers with one image racking up over 24,000 hits.

“The main question I would get asked by followers was – why is Scruffy, scruffy?

“I couldn’t answer that. I tired looking it up and thought perhaps it was genetic. I would see Scruffy’s partner and she was completely smooth.

“Whatever it was – it never affected him because I would see him flying easily, picking up food and taking it back to the nest.

“I read that it could be mites so I used my professional lenses to zoom in on his feathers but I never saw anything crawling around.

“I like to think that he was just a one-off scruffy robin.”

Jackie says as the Instagram account rose in popularity, she began receiving messages from Scruffy fans who told her that the photos of the cheeky bird were getting them through lockdown.

She said: “Followers would send me paintings and sketches of Scruffy – I even had a Scruffy made of felt sent to me.

“People fell in love with him as soon as they saw him.”

But by July 2020, Scruffy unexpectedly stopped visiting Jackie’s garden.

She said: “I can recall seeing him going different places to feed the chicks once they fledged – but one day he flew over the garden wall – and that was the last I saw of him.

“I’d like to think he appeared in someone else’s garden – but sadly robins don’t live very long lives.”

Territory

Although robins keep a territory going even outside the breeding season and will stay in and around a garden all year – their lifespan can be very short, often only around 13 months.

However, those that survive the critical first year can see their lifespan increase dramatically to 5 or 6 years plus because of the life skills they have learned.

Despite Jackie posting hundreds of photos to Scruffy’s Instagram page, there were still hundreds more that had never been seen.

Five years after Scruffy first appeared in Llantwit Major, Jackie is still posting new images of the quirky looking bird for his social media followers to enjoy.

She said: “Everyone knows that Scruffy has left my garden now, but people still get so much enjoyment from the photos.

“There’s always been a friendly black bird that comes right into my conservatory – one time he even came in and sat on my table waiting for his sultanas.

“But Scruffy just really sparked my interest. When he left I started photographing other birds, puffins, guillemots and even birds of prey.

“I started another Instagram to document the images I’d taken of these other birds.

“But I’ve still continued to post to Scruffy’s account because I have so many lovely shots of him that I want to share.”

Jackie’s love for birds has seen her dubbed locally as The Bird Whisperer of Llantwit Major.

She now photographs birds in her area every single day – walking to a nearby beach with her husband to capture the local wildlife.

Jackie said: “I have about 50 baby starlings that bounce around in my garden as soon as I step outside at the moment. They just appear like in the Alfred Hitchcock film ‘The Birds’.

“But with summer coming now it can be difficult what with all the tree foliage.

“Last week I did manage to get a kestrel hovering down on the cliffs in Llantwit. I’ve managed to get photos of linnets and blackcaps too.”

After several years with no resident robin nesting in Jackie’s garden, this spring she decided to put a nest box in the hedge where Scruffy once raised his chicks.

To her delight, a pair of robins moved in shortly after.

Jackie said: “Although I’ve had robins visit over the years – this has been the first nest I’ve had in my garden since Scruffy.

“The chicks fledged this week and the adult male has already started to become quite tame.

“If I peak through the hedge I can see five beaks lined up. I like to think that the brood could be Scruffy’s great great great grand-chicks.”

You can follow Scruffy the Robin on Instagram here.

You can follow Jackie’s other wildlife account on Instagram here.