It's blowing a gale here today with intermitten bursts of sunshine and heavy showers. And when I came into my dining room to update my other blog, I noticed a bit of a commotion going on high up amongst the dead heads of my Albertine Rose.
Two birds were sitting up there, one large and one small, silhouetted against the bright sky. From time to time, the larger one would fly away and then I could see that it was a male blackbird. When it came back it would feed the smaller one and occasionally a female blackbird came with food instead. Once or twice the male blackbird would seem to be pecking the smaller one vigorously on the back of it's neck!
Every now and then, the little one chirps a bit when it's left on its own and soon one of the bigger birds appears. It was really difficult to get close enough to take a photo without frightening it and of course, it's in a tricky position regarding the light. But these are the best I could manage -
It seems as if it's stuck and afraid to fly away but I'm not sure that I can help in any way - if only because it's about 10 ft from the ground and amongst the branches of the climbing rose.
Anyone know what's going on - or whether there's anything I could be doing?
13 comments:
Maybe the "bird parents" want the younger one to fly on its own? And it doesn't want to or is too timid? So the old birds still come and feed it?
Your birds are so different there, I've no idea
When I came down from my attic where I'd been painting, I thought it had gone. But it's just moved along onto the rose arch - and still being fed by Father Blackbird. Mother Blackbird just comes and sits near it for a while. In fact it could get back to its nest in my pear tree (I think!) along the trellis and then the wall, without ever needing to fly! It's been out there for more than 8 hours and now its starting to pour with rain. Wish there was something I could do!
This would make a nice painting, but I do hope it survived and is ok!
It is still there this morning but it has just moved a few inches along the rose arch - in the direction of the wall again, so away from its nest. But at least it's still alive!
It's gone! It must have found a way to fly away in the time I looked away to write the update. I should think there are a pair of very relieved blackbird parents out there!
Far from an expert on birds... but perhaps it was a cuckoo? Pictures on the net of juvenile cuckoos look somewhat similar. Would explain the feeding. Just a thought!
I wondered about that too! But I think more likely a juvenile blackbird as the ones that sit on my lawn often seem a bit clueless!
Interesting looking bird and story behind it!
I've helped rear 3 generations of black bird (on currents, they love them), and quite often the young leave the nest before they can fully fly, the parents will continue to look after and feed them for a few weeks until they are independent. It's not a cuckoo, it is a jeuvenille black bird, they are brown and speckled like a thrush, and they sometimes appear bigger than their parents because they are fluffy. This does appear to be quite a young one because of the edging on the beak, but as long as you don't have lots of cats, he's probably fine!
Thank you, Gillean - no, I don't have a cat and nor do my immediate neighbours. I'd have been very worried if we had! I assume he's somehow found his way back to the nest by now, but it was probably a bit tricky from amongst the rose branches! I do often see them flopping about on my lawn in the summer and they look as if they're injured until I get really close and then they fly away.
And, Mary Anne, if you'd like to have a go at painting it, I can email you the larger version of the photos.
Funnily enough I do lots of birds pictures (graphic art rather than painting) but for some reason I've never done a black bird, will have to do one now :)
I am so glad that everything's okay now!
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