Blackbird Nest Update; They've Fledged!

If you read my blog regularly (thank you to those who do, I love you!), you'll have seen multiple posts about the feathered babies in my garden. I got quite attached to them, to the point where Jack told me I'd be sleeping in the shed if he came home to find I'd 'rescued' one and brought it in the house. Alas I didn't need to as the parents have been fab and all babies are doing well.

They fledged on Tuesday and I only knew this when I came face to face with one of their little grumpy beaked faces sat on the outer foot-ledge of the conservatory staring in at me as I read a book! Barry cries quietly at the door to go out and 'play' with these speedy little things but I've had a stern word with and told him "no". He understands "be nice" anyway as I said it to him various times when he was a much younger pup and took an interest in my shelled babies, Squirt and Lola. He now knows not to think about touching them and if you read my last post you'll know he's now scared of them anyway haha!

Anyway, the baby Blackbirds may have fledged but they're not the most intelligent of birds. I think three have now left the safety of our garden but one still remains and he seems to like exploring the whole garden. I've found him sat on the broom, sat on the tortoise's house, amongst the blackcurrant plant and perched on my rhubarb. Yesterday the little fiend must have run into the shed while I had the door open as I was cutting the grass. I put the mower away without knowing, but when I put the tortoises outside earlier I could hear a lot of tweeting and could see Mr Blackbird with a beak full of worms hopping around the shed roof. When I opened the shed door there was little baby blackbird sat on a box of lawn seed on the shed windowsill! So he spent a night in the shed, but I carefully caught him and put him back outside and told him to stay away from Jack when he sees the bird poop EVERYWHERE in the shed!

The parents are still busy feeding them but hopefully they'll successfully fly off very soon :-)

Em x

Blackbirds Nest Update 04/07/2016

The babies are growing well and jostling around a lot in the nest as they're so big now; they keep pushing the smallest from the nest poor thing. I know it's nature and these things happen but I have rescued him a couple of times and popped him back on the nest as the tortoises come straight over to investigate who's fallen into their run and Barry follows quickly behind at the sound of the tweets, so I speedily pick him up (wearing gloves so he doesn't smell too much of me) and pop him back on the nest where he's safer. Mum and Dad don't seem bothered by me doing this, moments later they fly in with food for them all as if to say "thanks for baby sitting". I'm petrified some horrible cat will get them and they're so close to being able to fledge now, come on little babies, the quicker you can fly the safer you'll be! They're about 10 days old and I believe they fledge at around 14 days so not long now...

Photo from Friday

Photo from yesterday

Blackbirds Nest Update 30/06/2016

I can confirm that all four chicks hatched safely and are growing well, I can't believe just how quickly they grow!


Mr and Mrs Blackbird are very busy parents, constantly bringing food for their hungry brood throughout the day and until the sun disappears each night.


More updates soon!

Em x

Blackbird's Nest Update 27/06/2016

I'm very excited to announce we have babies! Ugly but cute little Blackbird chicks! The photo isn't brilliant but Mum was sat at the back of the nest and I didn't want to disturb her and her babies for long. She doesn't seem to mind and is very bold but I still don't want to interfere with nature, I'm just so pleased to have wildlife making its home in our garden!

I didn't want to disturb the nest too much as Mr and Mrs Blackbird have been constantly flying back and forth alternating in bringing tasty worms for the chicks. When I peeked in when both Mum and Dad weren't on the nest it's hard to tell whether all four have successfully hatched or not, I can definitely see three and think there might be a fourth but perhaps as they get a bit bigger I'll be able to tell.


The parents are quite bold when we're in the garden and only feet away from the nest they perch on our conservatory roof with a mouthful of worms and debate on whether it's safe to fly into the nest, then moments later they do so I think they're quite trusting of us. I think they're even appreciating the tortoise's water bath in their run which is below the nest and I've seen Mrs Blackbird having a drink and a bath in there first thing in the morning before she returns to the nest.


Hopefully I can keep updating you as the chicks grow; they grow very quickly and fledge quite early; I believe they hatched on Friday and it's remarkable how much they've grown and changed already!


More updates soon!


Em x

Blackbird's Nest Update 18/06/2016

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend and I hope none of you have been too affected my the torrential downpours last week. Lucky for us there wasn't too much and to be honest I really love thunderstorms anyway and they helped freshen the air for Hay Fever.

I posted a few photos last week about Mrs Blackbird who was busy building a nest in the Clematis in our garden. She finished her beautiful nest and I didn't think to look again until one day in the week when I was putting the tortoises into their outdoor run which is right nearby. As I stood back up I came eye to eye with Mrs Blackbird sat on her nest! She stayed totally still and I carefully moved away so as not to disturb her. She doesn't seem to mind too much anyway as I've come quite close to the nest a few times as I put the torts out and bring them in again.

The other morning when I went out I noticed she wasn't on the nest and when I peered a little closer I saw that there are four vivid blue Blackbird eggs sitting in the nest! I was worried that she'd left them but within about half hour she was back on the nest and I've noticed she's off the nest each morning for a little while. I assume it's to stretch her wings and find some food for herself.

I estimate that the eggs were laid about five days ago and I've researched that the incubation period is 13-14 days according to the RSPB website so they should hatch around next weekend some time. Fingers crossed they hatch and survive. Thankfully I've done everything in my power to deter cats from our back garden and it's very rare we get a cat in there as they're one of the biggest risks to vulnerable chicks, so hopefully the chicks will have a good chance at fledging successfully. There's plenty of worms and insects in our garden for Mrs Blackbird to feed them anyway, so here's hoping they all hatch successfully.

I managed to carefully get a photo of the eggs in the nest the other day and wanted to share it with you. More updates to come soon; as you can probably tell I'm quite excited about having wildlife in our garden, that was my main aim :-)

Em x