Our Nesting Blackbirds

Virginia Krull wrote

Love your pictures. I have a pair with almost fully grown babies in my back yard. For some reason they have taken to bring their or maybe even other birds stool and depositing it into my nice clean swimming pool. They carry it with their beak and drop it right in. Don't care if I'm standing right their or not. They do not fear me at all. It has been happening now for about a week. I have seen it 4 times just this afternoon. I'm trying to figure out a reason for this strange behavior. It's like they are bring me a present. Any insite to this ritual they have?

Posted July 05, 2009

Helen wrote

Thank you for your lovely site - I have become fascinated by blackbirds nesting in a conifer tree in our garden and have just had the pleasure of seeing 3 baby blackbirds flying around the garden and taking their first steps in hunting for worms. I had become worried that I had not seen the female blackbird and was sad thinking that something had happened to her - but I am now thinking that she could be back on the nest the way that the male is constantly looking in that direction. That's what I like to think anyway .........

22/06/09

Posted June 23, 2009

Karen wrote

Wow what a lovely blog about your baby blackbirds. I was searching for a site about babies and what to do with dead ones and the empty nest when I came across it.

We were lucky enough to have a blackbird build her nest right above our flat underneath our neighbours balcony, we could see everything. We read they liked to feed on fruit and berries so bought some sultanas, soaked them in warm water so they plumped out abit and put them in piles on our terrace!

I have never seen the blackbird eat so many and take so many to the babies ever! She brought in loads of worms as well but I think they really must have made life a little easier for her with 3 mouths to feed. The babies grew really quickly, we went away one weekend when they were flapping around ready to leave, came back and they're gone. Sadly there's one laid next to the nest, fully grown but dead. No idea why, very sad we'll have to move it.

Thanks for your site, very interesting.

Posted June 23, 2009

array wrote

the wind blew a dove nest with two eggs from a shrub by our deck. I had been watching the female sitting on the nest for some time so i was disturbed when she would come back and look for it but it had disintegrated. so, with little hope, within an hour, i took a small wicker basket and wired it into the bush where the nest was and put one egg back in it--the other had been destroyed by the fall. the female came back, inspected the basket, and climbed in and sat on the egg. it hatched and i had the pleasure of watching the chick develop, and stay in the yard on the ground until it could fly better. the mother took care of it and soon i saw them flying around and often sitting on our fence and occasionally on the deck. the fledgling wanted the mother to keep feeding it but was finally on its own. quite a treat all in all and an unexpected success for an amatuer nest builder.

Posted June 19, 2009

nickupton wrote...

This is my new favourite lens! I will be lensrolling it to a number of my birdwatching lenses. I am a birdwatching guide and so often the birdwatchers who are with me are only happy when they see rare or new birds - I am always really happy to see people enjoying and caring about more everyday birds.

I am from UK but live in Thailand now and I have a sunbird which is always coming onto my balcony and yard - your lens has made me feel like writing a similar one for my sunbird.

Great stuff.

Posted June 19, 2009

marie wrote

I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful photos. Two weeks ago a terrible storm blew a baby black bird out of its nest. It hit the ground and was captured by a cat. A friend got the bird and put it back on the roof. The parents tried so hard to get it back and it was blown off again. Now another cat got it and I took it away and it seemed just fine. I took it in the house and got it dry and made a mixture of high protien dog food that I had grinded in the grinder and added water. The bird was just fine and made it through the night. Every day I tood the bird in a small hampster cage to work with m. and ywhere I went. I fed him whenever he told me he was hungry. A few days had gone by and his normal feathers had come in. Well after two weeks I took him to work and opened the cage to set him free. Hew flew in one of the trees and it has been two hours and he still sits in the same spot. I hope I did the right thing and he makes it. I go out there every few minutes

Posted June 13, 2009

janine wrote

i found a baby black bird in my garden but there arnet any trees about its still in the pink stage ive saw a male black bird flying about but i dont understand how it got in my garden any way ive been feeding it water and bread im just wondering because its abit hard to find worms what other foods could i feed it?

Posted June 09, 2009