Young Blackbirds
We didn’t intend to breed blackbirds, but our garden is full of them at the moment, adults and chicks.
Most endearing are a male with two big fat youngsters who follow him around all over the place. They’re always begging for food, but when he looks away they seem to be quite OK grubbing around for their own
We provide sunflower hearts, with occasional mealworm treats, and at this time of year we’re doing a lot of digging and exposing earthworms. As well as three ponds in our garden, there is a small and intimate birdbath on the ground by the feeders outside the kitchen window – which they adore!
The Birdbath
I watched one slender, elegant blackbird this morning. He stood on the edge of the birdbath, and took a few leisurely sips of water, and contentedly surveyed his domain.
The pleasure this gives has to be earned however. The birdbath is small, which they seem to like, but it needs topping up frequently. All the birds together wouldn’t make much of a dent in the supply if they just drank from it – but blackbirds like to bathe. I don’t know how often they do this (like I said, there are a lot in the garden), but when they do, they go for it!
They stand on the edge and have a look around first. They may also have a pre-bath drink, but then they leap in and go absolutely nuts, head down, wings flapping furiously, and water everywhere! I can’t help but laugh at this palaver, so I watch till they’re done, wait till they’ve finished grooming, then I dutifully fill it up again.
To be honest, it would probably take two blackbird bathing sessions to empty it completely, but the little birds struggle to reach the water if it’s half full. I also think it would be mean to leave the next guy only half a bath full of water.
It could be worse, sometimes a pigeon settles in for a good long soak!
