The Rustic Frog
Superdad
2022 has been the garden year of this blackbird Superdad.
Earlier, there has been many times watching males (and then females), cock fighting 6 foot up in the air above the lawn, watched from my kitchen sink. They followed each other using their body language to taunt the other, then turning away. This behaviour has gone on for months.
Then this one began entering the clear plastic, hog, feeding box and stealing their food, captured on the camera trap. He climbed over an obstacle brick in his determination to get food, which I had put inside to deter him and the mice, but he just skirted over the top to make a quick exit each time.
More recently he appeared with his war wounded lower back feathers missing and his mate had disappeared?
Presumably now being widowed, he was becoming even more daring and on the morning of this shot, I was doing some jobs in the back garden, with the passage door open- he invited himself in and helped himself to a spider! Brazen or what! (Wish he'd come in further and done the rest of the house lol).
I managed some shots, but decided on showing you the reason instead. He was feeding 2 youngsters right by my feet.
Later on one evening, I heard him calling from the bottom of the garden, down by the side of the shed. One of his fledgelings couldn't fly up to the fence from the ground and he was calling it up. He was so loud and concerned.
As I write this, he has now started to develop some new replacement feathers on his bare patch and I see the odd youngster visitor, although not knowing if it's one of his.
So my opinion of this cheeky bird, who took advantage when he could, won my heart after all.
To all Superdads, well done!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf_UV0TAjM8
Superdad
2022 has been the garden year of this blackbird Superdad.
Earlier, there has been many times watching males (and then females), cock fighting 6 foot up in the air above the lawn, watched from my kitchen sink. They followed each other using their body language to taunt the other, then turning away. This behaviour has gone on for months.
Then this one began entering the clear plastic, hog, feeding box and stealing their food, captured on the camera trap. He climbed over an obstacle brick in his determination to get food, which I had put inside to deter him and the mice, but he just skirted over the top to make a quick exit each time.
More recently he appeared with his war wounded lower back feathers missing and his mate had disappeared?
Presumably now being widowed, he was becoming even more daring and on the morning of this shot, I was doing some jobs in the back garden, with the passage door open- he invited himself in and helped himself to a spider! Brazen or what! (Wish he'd come in further and done the rest of the house lol).
I managed some shots, but decided on showing you the reason instead. He was feeding 2 youngsters right by my feet.
Later on one evening, I heard him calling from the bottom of the garden, down by the side of the shed. One of his fledgelings couldn't fly up to the fence from the ground and he was calling it up. He was so loud and concerned.
As I write this, he has now started to develop some new replacement feathers on his bare patch and I see the odd youngster visitor, although not knowing if it's one of his.
So my opinion of this cheeky bird, who took advantage when he could, won my heart after all.
To all Superdads, well done!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf_UV0TAjM8