First sign of chicks

April 3, 2011 in blackbird, Spring, updates

The garden has had a different tempo this last couple of weeks, with the birds still feeding, but to a lesser extent. They have been very busy working in their pairs together to gather nesting material ready for the spring and summer season ahead of them. Goldcrest has been gone for a few weeks now, and has hopefully travelled safely back home. The Blackcaps (2 males and a rather shy female) have been away from the garden for four days now, and we think that they headed back to their summer home too. Most of the Brambling have left also, apart from a male and female that still visit daily and although we’ll miss them hope that they set off on their travels soon too. The little wren has become a fun character in the garden, very visible and not so shy, and can often be seen hopping along the flower pots and in and out the bushes looking for food.

Today, was the first sign that one of the pairs of blackbirds has hatched its first chicks. Instead of the usual coming down to eat the mealworms from the path, the male blackbird came down and didn’t feed himself, but instead managed to scoop and stack up neatly over 10 mealworms in his beak neatly in an orderly row, before flying off back to his nest. After a few minutes returned again and did the same. It’s always an exciting time of year, and we’re looking forward to seeing the first youngsters out and about in the garden in the coming weeks ahead.

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