BIRDS IN THE GARDEN

Don't the birds sound lovely just now. I love to hear them singing in the morning. There were 16 species in the back garden this morning including my favourites the Song thrush, Bull finches, Wren and Long tailed tits all in pairs. I'll have to keep an eye on them and see if I can find where they are nesting - if they have started yet. The Blackbirds have three nests in the conifers and holly hedge, but I don't think the others have built theirs yet. The blue tits are still checking out the nest boxes but not decided which ones to use.

It is like spring today and all the birds are busy building their nests and hurtling about with beakfulls of grass and twigs. The blue tits have chosen their nest box and are hopping in and out every few minutes.

Yesterday when I was just about to open the front door I saw two magpies on the door mat. I opened the door and they just hopped a couple of yards away and stood looking at me - obviously they were too busy to fly away. Then I noticed lots of bits of coconut matting scattered around and one of the magpies looked as though it had a stiff ginger moustache - a large beakful of doormat. Hope it makes a comfortable nest.

The blackbird has started it's spring song and the golden plover has arrived so it must be spring :-)

The House martins returned on 4th April, and the Chiff Chaff have started up their calls. My friend has some Spotted fly catchers up at her farm and Golden Plover have been seen for the first time at her neighbours farm. He has had lapwing nesting, but never the plover so he is very excited. And another pair of blackbirds have chosen the silliest nesting site so far this year on the open side of a small conifer about three feet from the ground with an apple branch leading almost into the nest - easy access for cats etc. It must be their first attempt, or perhaps they are just very optimistic. It is a lovely nest though

What does one feed to baby blackbirds ?
This morning, my brother has cut down a dead pine tree. Too late he noticed that it had a nest from blackbirds. Fortunately he managed to rescue the two baby blackbirds. He has been feeding them rain worms about 20 per bird during the day. Now he is wandering whether that would be sufficient and if they have to be fed also other types of food.
The babies are almost full grown and are trying out their wings.
Tomorrow, I'll be in charge of them, because my brother has work to do,
so I would like to ask if anyone has some advise how I have to take care of them.

Eathworms, mealworms. Don't forget the first feeding at 04.30 ;-)

Resin

Thanks, Resin. I just thought that blackbirds are omnivores. My blackbirds enjoy fruits like apples, grapes, etc.. and they also like bread so, I was wondering if they also feed it to their babies.
you're not serious, are you, about the first feeding ?

Hi Bonitin,

They are omnivores as adults, but the chicks need high quality protein animal food while they are still growing. A small amount of soft fruit (e.g. grapes, raspberries) will be OK this close to fledging, but only as a supplementary food, not their full diet. Ditto tinned cat food (which is typically about 40% protein, compared to 70% protein in worms and insects).

Sorry, yes, serious about the first feeding - it will need to be about half an hour before dawn. Blackbirds have very good eyesight, and do a lot of their feeding while it is still nearly dark to our eyes. The chicks will let you know when they wake up hungry!

Resin

Couple more thoughts - if (as typical of humans!) you go to bed around midnight, a late feed at the end of the evening will help keep them a bit quieter for first thing in the morning.

Worms and mealworms are available from pet stores and fishing stores.

Forgot to say - chop the food fairly small. With live (rather than defrosted frozen) mealworms, crush the head before feeding them to the chicks.

Resin

That made it all clear now ! Thank you so much, Resin!
My brother will have to do the first feedings before he leaves for his work, because I will only arrive at his place later in the morning.
I will have to overcome my feelings of disgust for the type of food I have to give them, wish they where vegetarians!

Good luck!

Feeding is the easy part . . . clearing up the poop they produce out the other end is less nice! They will typically produce a poop immediately after being fed (in nature, so that the parents can carry it away for good nest hygeine at the end of a feeding visit).

Resin

That was quit an experience to play for mother blackbird!!
It is unbelievable HOW MUCH they can eat!!!
I was a little insecure about the amount of food I should give because they kept asking for more even after something like 5 big rainworms.
Amazing also how they trust humans to such an extend; they are not aware of any danger. When I walked away after I thought they had enough they came running after me as if I was their mother.
Tomorrow they will be taken to a bird asil where they take care of young wild birds fallen out of their nest, also of wounded ones until they think it is safe to let them lose again in the wild.

A picture of my brother feeding them (he had to keep them inside a room indoors because of his 5 too much interested cats!):

Another one in my place on my little terras being fed by my friend;

In their 'nest' and sleeping place; don't they look a little like 'punks' ?

If the beaks are open . . . put some food in!

Resin

They are lovely little birds - you have done well to keep them going. When you see the parent birds working so hard looking for food all day it just makes you realise how much the babies eat.

One of our blackbird families have left the nest this week, but unfortunately one had killed itself by flying into the window. They still seem to be looking after another two though. I'm amazed how they manage to raise any with all the neighbouring cats.

Pat - very nice blackbird nest - never seen one - didn't realise the eggs were so pretty :-)

Bonitin - those little chicks are just too cute! Glad you could keep them going :-)

Thanks Pat and Rannveig!
At the moment I have a new cat of one of the neighbours terrorizing my sparrows. He has already killed 6 of them.
It is shocking to find the remnants of the crimes.
For a few days the whole bird community was gone from my garden and I feared they would never come back. It was sooo silent and I felt sad. But since a couple of days they all came back and are very busy making their nests,
chatting and quarreling. I wonder where they have gone to for a whole week and where they found their food.
I'll try to scare off the murderer with a garden hose. I know they hate water! I always had a dilemma with cats and birds. I love both, like I love all animals, but sadly they are not compatible.
The little chicks are taken care of now in the bird asil by a lovely caring volonteer until they are ready to spread out their wings and let free into the wild.

I know how you feel bonitin - I love both too - but I hate it when the cats are after "my" birds!

I feel very sad the neighbour's cat has just eaten the male Song thrush. There are feathers all over the garden around its anvil for breaking the snail shells, and the cat saw me and ran for its life.

On a happier note it is gently raining and all the birds have started singing happily - like an afternoon "dawn chorus". They have been struggling to find worms etc with the terribly dry ground and lots of them are feeding young now so perhaps the rain will bring the worms up again.

Pat that is so sad! Those darned cats ......

I'm sorry Pat for the loss of your male Song Trush.
I never managed to get used to the cruel aspects that are also part of nature.
Hope he hadn't babies yet. I wonder what happens if one of the parents dies. Does the remaining parent has to take over the whole task of raising the chicks ?

That is what I was worried about Bonitin, I think the female must be sitting on eggs as she hasn't been around much for the past week or two. I don't think she could keep them warm and feed them on her own.

It is true Resin that domestic cats are not natural.
But besides this fact, one cannot deny that nature really has some very cruel aspects. One only has to watch nature documentaries like they have on the BBC.
I love to watch them, but always close my eyes or even leave the room when it comes to the sometimes really gruesome scenes. That may be cowardly from my part, but I cannot help it. I never get used to it.

I remember one scene where a chick in a nest was threatened and even killed by ants. It was somewhere in a tropical forest. The chick was completely helpless and couldn't defend itself. Its parents were out to look for food.
I felt sick with disgust. And more of all I was upset with the cameraman who didn't do anything to prevent it happening.

Lovely blackbird babies bonitin, I'm pleased you managed to save them.

Pat that must have been very distressing to see one of the Thrushes devoured, there are not so many of them around.

I have started a new thread as this was taking so long to load I had given up on it!

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/717347/