My Blackbirds.

Discussion in 'Wildlife Corner' started by roders, Jun 5, 2019.

  1. roders

    roders Total Gardener

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    I would like to share with you our family of Blackbirds in our garden ,it has been fascinating watching them grow from eggs to fledging time.

     
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    • Sheal

      Sheal Total Gardener

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      Wonderful Roders. :dbgrtmb:
       
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      • luciusmaximus

        luciusmaximus Total Gardener

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        Awww, how lovely :wub2:. Where is the nest? Thank you for sharing.

        We have Blackbirds here. Unfortunately I have a very sad story ........ a few weeks ago the Blackbirds nest was attacked. Didn't see the attack, heard the noise and ran across garden. I found a baby on the floor, very shaken and scared but unhurt. No sign of any other babies. I made a nest under the tree , tried to camouflage it best I could and hid him/her in it. I told him he would be okay, that his parents would come for him. The weather was changing and I didn't know what to do for the best, bring him inside for the night or leave out. Advice I''ve read says not to interfere. I went back later to check and all I found was a pile of feathers :cry3:. I wish I'd brought him in overnight :sad:
         
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        • Doghouse Riley

          Doghouse Riley Head Gardener

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          Sad story.

          We found a baby blackbird once, very bedraggled in the rain and alone on the patio, seemed too exhausted to move.
          We brought him in, put him in a cardboard box, I made some holes in the top to let in air and a bit of light with him sitting on an old towel. We put him in a room on his own. I put half a boiled egg still in its shell in with him. The following morning he was bright and perky and had eaten a lot of the boiled egg. So I released him in the garden and he flew into the azaleas. Can't be sure we saw him again as there's always blackbirds in our garden, they nest every year and "one looks like another." But we'd "done our bit."

          We have two that regularly visit our feeders, "Charlie.... and this is Sharleen." (My wife always names them)



          P1020957.JPG
           
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          • Mossy Rocks

            Mossy Rocks Apprentice Gardener

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            They look almost ready to take their first flight: a pair of newly fledged blackbirds have had an instructive week here. I saw them outside my window for a few days, waiting for dad to bring them breakfast. He often comes along with a fresh worm for them after i've been digging. I can hear them rustling around in the hedgerow or scurrying under the blackberry thicket, looking for anything that looks edible. The mother does her fair share, too, and often chides me for digging too slowly when she wants to eat.
            I'm very pleased for them as competition is fierce around here; another blackbird pair are always bickering with them and the pesky magpie's will smash their eggs if they can. If i see them i always tell them to go back into the woods just up the hill from my garden wall.
             
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            • roders

              roders Total Gardener

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              An all to often situation Luci
              We have been lucky so far ,five have fledged and are somewhere in the undergrowth apparently they can’t fly properly for a week so are still very vulnerable.
              The nest is in trellis just outside the greenhouse we are hoping they may have another brood as they often do.
              Here are a few more pics. of their journey.

              6CCBD39F-0DD5-4A12-82CB-1862255FEF33.jpeg A0114110-B1C4-40FF-8AFD-7770CC451DD7.jpeg EB71B9B3-9686-41CA-97D3-13FC506A9C2D.jpeg 43550200-8946-451D-A0E3-12A67019E2B8.jpeg 95263176-AE7D-46A0-A866-76607E788F56.jpeg F219B3FF-AA07-427E-B7D6-CDFDB9083CDE.jpeg
               
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              • Snorky85

                Snorky85 Total Gardener

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                Oh my goodness @roders They are absolutely beautiful. Blackbirds are my most favourite bird of all time. How lovely-thank you for sharing with us. I’m hoping now our garden is growing up a little more and the hedging and trees I’ve planted will help a few more visit our garden and eventually nest.
                 
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                • Verdun

                  Verdun Passionate gardener

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                  I too love the blackbirds. Their song is lovely. Plenty of them here and increasingly tame. Whilst drinking a cuppa on back bench a blackbird perched on the opposite arm rest ......nice :)
                  With the removal of a few very large sycamores the crows have almost disappeared allowing blackbirds to relax I think.:)
                   
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                  • Retired

                    Retired Some people are so poor all they have is money

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                    Hi,

                    We too have and love blackbirds. I've just been attacking the laurels at the top of the mountain and was surprised to find a blackbirds nest with four warm eggs in it so I quickly completed the area and removed the ladder so mummy could look after her eggs.

                    Bron and I prefer animals and wildlife to many people.

                    Kind regards, Colin.
                     
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                    • luciusmaximus

                      luciusmaximus Total Gardener

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                      Me too :blue thumb:
                       
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                      • JWK

                        JWK Gardener Staff Member

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                        Lovely video and photos roders - thanks for sharing
                         
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                        • Mike Allen

                          Mike Allen Total Gardener

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                          I love to hear the song of the Blackbird. Sadly here there are so many cats and members of the crow family, Jays, magpies and Crows that along with many small birds, tits etc not many newly hatched even fly the nest before becoming food for crow family kids.
                           
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                          • luciusmaximus

                            luciusmaximus Total Gardener

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                            RSPB state that 55 million birds per year are killed by cats who are allowed to roam :yikes:. I thought it was a mistake but the numbers are right :sad:.
                             
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                            • Mike Allen

                              Mike Allen Total Gardener

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                              I remember a comment by a wild-life cameraman on TV. He mentioned that it was at times hard to resist intervening when a creature was under attack. Of course in the wild, many things take place that we may find sad, however this is the natural world and to survive often means hunting and killing. Often numbers are balanced by the hunter becoming the hunted.

                              Household cats are usually well fed and pampered but it's their natural instinct to hunt and kill. In their case there is probably no hunter after them.
                               
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                              • wiseowl

                                wiseowl FRIENDLY ADMIN Staff Member

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                                My Parson Jack Russells wouldn't agree with you:heehee: I have 4 pairs of blackbirds in the garden this year and every year:smile:
                                 
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