Gobby bird

The blackbirds fledged last night, but did they make it through their first 24 hours???

I’ve been watching the blackbirds going backwards and forwards to their nest for the last couple of weeks – they’ve been good enough to nest deep down in a clematis right outside my home office window, which has been a handy distraction during lockdown!

Being a nerd I’ve looked up some useless information about blackbirds and their nesting habits…

• Blackbirds nest 2 or 3 or even 4 times a year.
• They need to! The survival rate of nests and fledglings is low…
• Mrs Blackbird makes the nest and does all the sitting.
• Mr Blackbird gets involved with the feeding which he shares with Mrs B.
• When the birds leave the nest, it’s not unusual for Mum to disappear off to make another nest – leaving the fledglings in the capable hands of Dad.
• The first few days after fledging are critical to survival and frankly, it’s a lottery…
• Baby blackbirds can fly a few days after leaving the nest but until then they just flap about, making a racket.
• After 3 weeks the parents give up on their offspring and they’re left to their own devices.

So back to my blackbirds… Not being the brightest of creatures, they lost one of their chicks a couple of days ago after it ‘fell out of the nest’. The other two fledged at 7 o’clock yesterday evening, which in my mind was daft timing! Two flightless, squawky birds wandering around the garden at night sounds like a recipe for disaster!

I’m sorry to say that one of the birds didn’t make it past 11 o’clock at night. But the good news is that one of the original three chicks was still squawking this morning, and assuming it’s the same bird – is still nearby squawking this evening.

Not exactly a roaring success story, but not a complete disaster either!