Spring sees the start of nesting season for birds – both domestic, with chickens going broody, and wild birds who visit our gardens and parks.
Although blackbirds are easy to spot in our gardens in Autumn, when they come in search of berries and windfall fruit, if you’re lucky you might see them now gathering nesting materials, preparing to brood and hatch some chicks as the weather warms.
Blackbird chicks usually hatch after 13–14 days and are fed on earthworms when available in our gardens, and on caterpillars when they are raised in woodlands. Only the female blackbird broods the eggs, but both parents feed the chicks.
Blackbird
I am Blackbird, with feathers of black and beak of yellow. A golden yellow ring circles my bright eye. My mate has a duller beak and her feathers are not black at all, but speckled brown. Her colours help her to blend in as she sits on our nest, which keeps our babies safe from hungry cats and foxes.
I love to sing from my tree-top perch. Hear my fluting song, bright and clear as liquid crystal. I especially like to sing after the rain.
If I see a cat, I will call out, ‘Danger! Danger!’ See how I flick my wings and cry, ‘Chip, chip, chip, chip, chip, chip!’
In days of old, we blackbirds lived in the thick of the forests. Our loud, powerful song helped us to communicate through the dense leaf canopy. Now we love to come into your gardens too, and sing our songs from fence posts as well as treetops – we love to feast on the earthworks and insects who live in your lawns. In the autumn, you can watch us eating the ripe red berries of the rowan and the holly and see us feasting on windfall apples.
For more information on seasonal wildlife, and stories, songs and crafts that celebrate each season see The Children’s Forest by Dawn Casey, Anna Richardson and Helen d’Ascoli. Listen to Anna Richardson’s recording of the spring songs from The Children’s Forest on the Red Squirrel Resources YouTube channel.
The Children’s Forest: Stories & songs, wild food, crafts & celebrations all year round
Dawn Casey, Anna Richardson, Helen d’Ascoli
This book encourages children’s natural fascination with the forest and its inhabitants. The authors have produced an enchanting book where imagination, story and play bring alive the world of the forest. Read more…
