In A Kells Garden: Blackbirds
Last updated 15:06, Thursday, 23 October 2008
Well it has been another quiet month in the garden; our Hedgehogs have not been in the garden for about four or five weeks, so I think with the very wet weather we have been having lately, they must have died, I hope I’m wrong.
We have a young Jackdaw staying in the garden all day waiting to get feed, it’s only very small Jackdaw, and it’s not much bigger than a Blackbird.
This month I have chosen the Blackbird (Turdus merula) Family - Chats and Thrushes (Turdidae) one of the commonest birds in the UK. The male Blackbird has black plumage with an orange- yellow beak and eye ring. Female blackbirds are brown in colour, often with a pale patch and spots under the throat. Juveniles are reddish-brown with paler spotting.
The Blackbird will feed off the ground or from a ground table, taking sultanas and raisins, and kitchen scraps. And they are very partial to the Cheddar Cheese and Grapes we fed them, and Apples & Pears.
All the Blackbirds are back in our garden again after they have moulted; they have stripped the Roan tree in the garden of all its berries, so they are now looking for food scraps. It’s very interesting watching the Blackbirds behaviour they are very aggressive towards other Blackbirds coming into their territory. They also roll their food on the ground in the grit and soil to help with their digestion.The Blackbirds are also a very tame bird once you have gained their trust, they will come very close to you for food, some will even take food from on your hand, especially when they are looking for food for their young.
We even have one coming on to our windowsill looking in the window to get feed., Last year we had one walking in through our backdoor and walking around the kitchen floor wanting feed.
Why not submit your photograph of the birds in your garden? Email alan.cleaver@whitehaven-news.co.uk.
