23rd July - It's Been a Long Time Since I Rock 'n' Rolled!

Yes it certainly has!  As a result I thought I should share some of the activity that has been going on in the garden this summer.  Once again both the Robins and Blackbirds have been busy raising broods, probably on the back of the prodigious amount of easy food available.  Our Blackbird is still with us and has paired up with a stunning female this year.  They are currently on their third brood, with at least three juveniles having fledged successfully so far.  We do have another pair that visit the garden and they two have probably had at least two broods although we have not seen any of their young in the garden.

Here some lovely images of the Blackbirds over the last few weeks.

Our Blackbird male starting to look a little worse for wear once again

A close up showing the distinctive crossed mandibles of his bill.

Here he is calling with a high pitched single note, he tends to do this to alert the female to the fact that there is food available.  It is similar to an alarm call, but probably a little lower in pitch.  He can also produce this call with a beak full of mealworms

There is definite communication between the two, this can vary from a reassuring clucking noise, that they usually use when they want something, as if to alert us to the fact they are there.  The long drawn out rattle is another way of letting one or the other know there is something available, or just to get attention.  He sometimes uses this as he flies off, probably again to say here I come, we like to think its a thank you!

There are confrontations with the other pair that come into the garden, and both he and the female (the female is very dominant and boisterous) will run at the other blackbirds, and in extreme cases fly at them to chase them away.  Sometimes this is accompanied with a rattling call, and he will also chase them while again having a bill full of mealworms.

Here he is scurrying back to the food bowl after a confrontation.

This is the female bird, she was around in the winter as we can recognise her by the pattern on her bill and her large size.  Prior to pairing up she would confront our Blackbird who would back off, she still dominates him today, and has become a lot tamer coming to the bowl when we are there, and calling for food from the fence, but never venturing as close as her mate.

A very impressive lady.

Going back to the communication, I had added a log to the garden and placed some seed in it.  I noticed that the female found this after a time but there was no sign of the male.  Shortly after she flew off the male came into the garden went straight to the log and the food.  Had she informed him is some way?  Or had he been watching from a hidden place?  A part of me likes to think it was the former although my head says it was probably the latter.

As you can see she patrols the lawn with the complete air of authority.

The first brood of the year produced one successful fledging, the second delivered two youngsters.

They would constantly follow their father around calling for food.  At this time the female was sitting on the third brood, but appears to play no part once they have left the nest, that is all down to the male.

They beg, he feeds.

Then one day he just ignores their calls and begging, and gradually they disappear from the garden.

With his plumage in the state its in regular bathing is very important, and he will come to the bird bath frequently, but while the condition of the feathers are probably improved it doesn't seem to change the appearance.

There that's better!

We like to think that maybe the other Blackbird was one of his offspring from previous years.  Here he is.

But his breeding duties seem to be starting to have an impact on his plumage.  And he has a distinct light spot just in front of the eye

The Robins have been just as productive, with two pairs having three broods each.  I have not been able to confirm the exact number of fledged birds but there were at least three from the pair nesting on the left hand side of the garden.

One of the Robins is easy to identify (not easy with Robins), it have a small set of white rump feathers earning it the name "white bum"  As the season ends his feathers have taken a battering and he lost a significant number of tail feathers.

His (I just assume he is the male!) nest was on the right hand side of the garden, and he would fly in from the right into the tree opposite the kitchen.  This he would do if we called or opened the door, or if he sensed movement in the kitchen.  He would then perch in the sam spot in the tree and stare us out!

An alert stance when he knows the food is coming out.

He would use the cover of the tree a lot more once the feathers started to wear, moving very quickly to the bowl and back.

The Robins are not as vocal as the Blackbirds, but if they were looking for us to put food out they would use a form of sub song to get our attention.  The high pitched contact call is also very similar to that of the blackbirds, and this is used as an alarm call if a Red Kite or worse a Sparrowhawk comes over.

Here are two of the other Robins that I can definitely identify, the firs one unfortunately now beginning to lose feathers around the eye.

Just recently this Robin has become a little bolder than the others

Finally one of the fledged youngsters that like the Blackbirds would beg for food from the parents.

But it just isn't the Blackbirds and Robins that keep the garden busy, I have introduced some old logs around the lawn and these have proved an attraction to a couple of Nuthatches.

Here a classic Nuthatch pose

They also like to take advantage of the bird bath close by.

Juvenile Great and Blue Tits have also been frequent.

While sitting quietly one afternoon I was surprised to see a family group of Wrens turn up, not sure where they had come from or where their nest could be but it was a nice surprise.

They were very mobile, this one turning up on next door's roof.

Red Kites (who would have though twenty years ago that these could be called a garden bird!) also drift over regularly and like the smaller birds they are looking worse for wear as a result of the breeding season, the tail and flight feathers having taken some rough times.

Finally there are always the Goldfinches, they power through the sunflower seeds in the feeders, with both adult and juvenile birds present.  Their arguments over the perches on the feeders punctuate the calm of the garden afternoon, then the raucous calls are replaced with the charming tinkling of their calls as they fly off or fly in.  Here an adult takes the opportunity to have a drink from the bird bath.

Yet another breeding season passes us by, we have to wonder how much longer "our" blackbird will be with us, he must now be at least five, even six years old, we can only hope.  Getting attached to wild animals isn't always a good thing, but it has been a wonderful experience to watch and observe the behaviour.