Blackbird Nest tragedy in the last hour! (1 Viewer)

[Jason Alexander]

I have a number of cams set up in my garden, one of which was watching a Blackbird's nest. Originally MR & Mrs B had four eggs. A couple of days before they were due to hatch two disappeared! I've seen a Magpie hanging around a couple of time so I imagine he's the culprit. We do have a couple of squirrels too so who knows!?

Last weekend one egg hatched.The chick had been growing fast which is no wonder when you see the size of the worms mum and dad had been feeding him/her!! I can never get used to mum and dad eating thier offsprings poo! My six year old son finds it hilarious but all I can say is I'm glad I'm not a bird. Thank god for nappy sacks and wheelie bins! The final egg remains unhatched so I assume its either infertile or was damaged by whatever took the other two.

Anyway, Just got back from doing a quick bit of shopping and have found the Blackbird nest empty....no chick!

I've just watched mum and dad come back with beaks full of worms and looking completely confused. The male is now sitting in a tree making the sadest sounding chirp/whistle I think I've ever heard. Mum's still sitting on the nest in denial. :-C Will need to spend the afternnoon with Sam (my six year old son) whoe's still in floods of tears!

These things happen I suppose.....better luck next time.......why does nature have to be sooo cruel!?!?!

You can see the Live Cams here....

http://www.birdcamerabox.co.uk/live-cameras.asp

Magpie or squirrel.......What do you guys think?

Anyone else with a similar sad story?

 

[prowberr]

I have a number of cams set up in my garden, one of which was watching a Blackbird's nest. Originally MR & Mrs B had four eggs. A couple of days before they were due to hatch two disappeared! I've seen a Magpie hanging around a couple of time so I imagine he's the culprit. We do have a couple of squirrels too so who knows!?

Last weekend one egg hatched.The chick had been growing fast which is no wonder when you see the size of the worms mum and dad had been feeding him/her!! I can never get used to mum and dad eating thier offsprings poo! My six year old son finds it hilarious but all I can say is I'm glad I'm not a bird. Thank god for nappy sacks and wheelie bins! The final egg remains unhatched so I assume its either infertile or was damaged by whatever took the other two.

Anyway, Just got back from doing a quick bit of shopping and have found the Blackbird nest empty....no chick!

I've just watched mum and dad come back with beaks full of worms and looking completely confused. The male is now sitting in a tree making the sadest sounding chirp/whistle I think I've ever heard. Mum's still sitting on the nest in denial. :-C Will need to spend the afternnoon with Sam (my six year old son) whoe's still in floods of tears!

These things happen I suppose.....better luck next time.......why does nature have to be sooo cruel!?!?!

You can see the Live Cams here....

http://www.birdcamerabox.co.uk/live-cameras.asp

Magpie or squirrel.......What do you guys think?

Anyone else with a similar sad story?

Of course it could be either, and I don't have much evidence, but I suspect that squirrels are the more likely culprit for the loss of the eggs. They seem to like eggs more than fledglings and are more likely to eat one egg and leave others. It could be that the Magpie had taken the final chick, as they seem to trash a whole nest and not leave any eggs or chicks after their visit. I still suspect the squirrel though. Well, its a theory, not but not very scientific!

 

[songthrush]

Under blue tits and mistle thrush thread posted earlier today. Seems like a day of sorrow. No need to reply about the saving or dismantling of the thrush's nest, either a crow, magpie or cat has been in and pulled the nest onto the ground breaking all the eggs. The dear wife was gutted when we found the nest on the lawn. I guess its nature but a sad sight never the less. SHame it was not a horrible starlings nest instead of a thrush.

 

[Andrew Rowlands]

Magpie or squirrel.......What do you guys think?

Either of those or rat, Tawny Owl ...

Andy.

 

[Gill Osborne]

It IS a shame and very upsetting when it is 'your' birds but it's just the way that Nature works.

Blackbirds will have four/five broods every year though so no doubt they will soon get started on the next set of eggs and chicks. Hopefully it'll be within reach of your webcam once more :bounce:

 

[Jason Alexander]

Black Bird Tragedy with a happy ending...Hopefully!

Thanks for your replies guys.

Within a day they were back building a nest! There's only a few places in our garden where birds are likely to nest and I've got at least 10 cameras set up in various locations on the off chance that a pair of birds will nest within their field of view. I'll never go near a nest once built so theres plenty of cameras looking at the inside of bushes or the edge of a nest but not many eggs!

HOWEVER, was lucky to have guessed right with the new blackbird nest! Three eggs now! Sam is so pleased and constantly looking out the window for squirrels, magpies, crows etc.

The Blue Tit eggs have all hatched now too! All eleven of them. Mum and Dad are certainly being kept busy with all those mouths to feed!

Plenty of action on the feeders and bird table too......what a busy day!!!!!!

You can see all the action here...

http://www.birdcamerabox.co.uk/live-cameras.asp...

 

[Kezza]

Plenty of action on the feeders and bird table too......what a busy day!!!!!!

You can see all the action here...

www.birdcamerabox.co...

Magpies attacked the blackbird nest near me yesterday too. Poor Mr Blackbird tried so hard to see them off. Not sure who was successfull but two Magpies were involved so I doubt he managed to protect the nest. Very sad. However in the evening I also saw two blackbirds mating, I'm not sure whether it was the same pair.

Put up some wire near my blue tit box yesterday as I'm getting worried about cats ruining their chances. Eggs should be hatching soon I think!

By the way Jason the link you posted for the webcam doesn't work, looks like the end part is missing. Easy to guess what it should be, but just letting you know in case you want to edit it.

 

[Jason Alexander]

Updated Link

Magpies attacked the blackbird nest near me yesterday too. Poor Mr Blackbird tried so hard to see them off. Not sure who was successfull but two Magpies were involved so I doubt he managed to protect the nest. Very sad. However in the evening I also saw two blackbirds mating, I'm not sure whether it was the same pair.

Put up some wire near my blue tit box yesterday as I'm getting worried about cats ruining their chances. Eggs should be hatching soon I think!

By the way Jason the link you posted for the webcam doesn't work, looks like the end part is missing. Easy to guess what it should be, but just letting you know in case you want to edit it.

Thanks for that Kezza. Have now updated the link to....

http://www.birdcamerabox.co.uk/live-cameras.asp

Let's keep our fingers crossed for some successful hatching!!

 

[AliOli]

First time I've tried a forum, but feeling so miserable about a nesting mistle thrush that I had to join. I live on a London street and about 3 weeks ago started hearing the strangest bird noise almost continually on the street. I eventually realised that the noise was a couple of mistle thrushes chasing off a couple of magpies. A couple of days later I finally realised they had a nest in the fork of a street tree, just above head height outside our house. Then I realised that the magpies were nesting in the very next tree, and seemed to spend all their time harrassing the thrushes. I couldn't bear it any more, so called a tree surgeon to remove the magpie nest (for a hefty sum I might add) and they promptly remade. I again had the nest removed and this time he cleared up the twigs and removed a crucial branch (slightly cheaper 2nd time!). I then settled down to await the new arrivals. And I wait still..... I am so upset to see this bird sitting on her nest 8 days after the maximum incubation period. Evidently, the magpies must have meant that at some point the eggs got cold at the start, so she must be desperately trying to incubate dead eggs. Even her partner appears to have abandoned her - I haven't seen him for days, yet still she sits. It brings tears to my eyes just writing this. I just wish she'd give up and start again. I really thought that a bird would be able to tell if its eggs were dead.

 

[deborah4]

Hi AliOli

I'm not even sure this is legal!

''Then I realised that the magpies were nesting in the very next tree, and seemed to spend all their time harrassing the thrushes. I couldn't bear it any more, so called a tree surgeon to remove the magpie nest (for a hefty sum I might add) and they promptly remade. I again had the nest removed and this time he cleared up the twigs and removed a crucial branch (slightly cheaper 2nd time!).''

Not only should wild birds' nests not be disturbed (except under Licenced control for 'nuisance species'), but regardless of your emotional reaction to predation, having 'offending' branches lobbed off trees just so you can 'help' a pair of birds you happen to prefer over another species seems a bit obsessive to me! The Thrush may well have lost all the eggs, the female may even be on a second clutch ... even so, predation is natural! Magpies have to eat - would you also pay to have a Sparrowhawk dispensed with if it started to prey on your garden birds?

I'm sorry if that seems harsh, it's upsetting if one particular pair of birds you've been watching falls foul of another, but believe me, the birds just get on with it regardless! We don't own them and shouldn't interfere to this extent.

I can totally understand you being upset but predation is something we all have to come to terms with when we become more involved with watching the wildlife on our doorstep. It only seems more ''personal'' because you've been watching this particular pair ... it all balances out in the end, let Nature take it's course.

 

[AliOli]

I didn't actually destroy any bird/eggs - only the nest which was in the process of being built. Neither did I harm the tree by having one branch trimmed. The council butchers these trees periodically. The magpies could just have gone further down the street to nest, but I feel little guilt because magpies are like a plague round here, and these are the first mistle thrushes I have seen round here.

 

[deborah4]

- only the nest which was in the process of being built.

That still constitutes disturbance as far as I'm aware

The magpies could just have gone further down the street to nest,

So could the Thrush, perhaps they will next time ..

but I feel little guilt because magpies are like a plague round here, and these are the first mistle thrushes I have seen round here.

Well I can understand your sentiments but don't agree unfortunately. We all have different perspectives on the wildlife around us, but often it's far more 'anthropomorphic' in it's thinking than perhaps is justifiable on scientific grounds. Just because we might think we have too many Magpies for our own liking and don't see enough of another species for our own liking, that's the way it is. There is no evidence to suggest that Magpie predation effects longterm populations of Thrush or any other species.

 

[turkish van]

I didn't actually destroy any bird/eggs - only the nest which was in the process of being built. Neither did I harm the tree by having one branch trimmed. The council butchers these trees periodically. The magpies could just have gone further down the street to nest, but I feel little guilt because magpies are like a plague round here, and these are the first mistle thrushes I have seen round here.

Still illegal, according to the Wildlife and Countryside Act - see here

I'm sure a lot of us would feel something similar (not the "little guilt" bit though!), but at the end of the day it's nature and not for any of us to interfere with. If there are predators around and the thrushes can't nest there then that's the way it is, isn't it better to leave them be than to watch chicks hatch and see them be taken by the magpies?

 

[deborah4]

Here's an article for you to read which may help clarify the situation (alongside the relevant Legislation that Laura has posted above)

http://www.arborecology.co.uk/article_nesting_birds.htm

Incidently, the Contractor you hired is also guilty of an offence, but being a tree surgeon, he should have been aware of the fact (despite the large sum of money he was probably happy to take off you!)

''Despite the protection for nest being limited to the time during construction and use, it is important to be aware that nest building starts from the moment the first twig is laid. So consider this; if you see a bird flying along with a twig in it’s beck and it lands on the branch of a tree, then flies away leaving the twig on the branch, that is legally considered to be a nest.''

 

[Jos Stratford]

So consider this; if you see a bird flying along with a twig in it’s beck and it lands on the branch of a tree, then flies away leaving the twig on the branch, that is legally considered to be a nest.

But in reality codswallop, it would never get anywhere in court and simply make a mockery of bird conservation if anyone were to try to bring a case.

 

[deborah4]

But in reality codswallop, .

Not an overly helpful comment when the point was to explain to someone who admits to ''only destroying a nest'' that removing a nest even in the process of it being built is also against the Law, so removing a complete one definitely is!. The twig thing may be ludicrous as a basis for legal action but in this case, it serves as a bench mark for those unware of what constitutes 'disturbance' to a nest and what defines one as such and thus, whether they do in reality fall foul of the Law - even if the Law only acts as a deterrent, it serves it's purpose.

 

[Jos Stratford]

Not an overly helpful comment when the point was to explain to someone who admits to ''only destroying a nest'' that removing a nest even in the process of it being built is also against the Law.

If you are going to explain an issue, you start with a factual base, not a laughable point. The removal of a single twig left by a passing bird is neither illegal nor is it worth mentioning in this context - for it to be illegal, you would have to show that this one twig was left intensionally for the purposes of constructing a nest. Even if you could do that, the case would never get anywhere but the tabloids.


PS as nobody else has done so yet, welcome to Bird Forum, AliOli

 

[Rose Fletcher]

Why, oh why, can some people never resist the temptation to dive in and start a nit-picking argument whenever a serious issue is being discussed? Forget the blasted twig - why change the subject? The discussion here is about the destruction of a nest - which in England is definitely illegal.

Still, the legality or otherwise of the actions taken also misses the point. The real issue here is: to what extent is it reasonable to interfere with nature when we don't like what we see happening?

Some birds are predators; some are preyed upon. That's the way of it, and the whole system would collapse if predation was halted. In fact, in this case, the actions taken have in fact hindered rather than helped. There is a bird pair, very possibly young and nesting for the first time, uselessly sitting on dead eggs when they could be setting on a new nest of healthy eggs, if the Magpies had destroyed their eggs in the first place. There is also a Magpie pair who have lost their nest site altogether.

Nature has its own inherent wisdom; it is harsh, and beautiful, and difficult to understand. At times it seems to toy cruelly with human emotions; but if we can't accept it 'as is', we are not truly nature lovers. Removing the functional nest of a native bird remains a reprehensible and irresponsible act, whenever, wherever, and for whatever reason.

And in this case, nature's wisdom would have allowed the Mistle Thrushes to learn and move on; which they are now unable to do.

 

[deborah4]

Why, oh why, can some people never resist the temptation to dive in and start a nit-picking argument whenever a serious issue is being discussed? Forget the blasted twig - why change the subject? The discussion here is about the destruction of a nest - which in England is definitely illegal.

I agree Rose.

I have a pair of Blackbirds feeding chicks in a high clump of ivy on my garden wall. Several times over the past few days, I've found a cat sitting under the nest staring up at the ivy. The chances of this pair being successful in producing fledglings is minimal. This same pair have been unsuccessful several years in a row due to cats and Magpie predation, both of which Ive witnessed in previous consecutive years. This year, for the first time they have actually nested right inside my garden as opposed to in gardens either side of me then visiting to feed etc - (I could hire someone to shoot the cat I suppose but I think that's illegal ) Somehow, I find the predation of their eggs by Magpie a little more easy to cope with than predation by the fat moggy from a few doors up - but neither is particularly pleasant to witness, especially after you've watched all the hard work both parents have put into nest building, feeding and teaching the youngsters to drag snails from their shells. Despite this however, there seems little moral justification in doing harm/causing stress to either creature just to help the other. I certainly wouldn't remove a Magpie nest (twice!), even if it were legal to do so (nor shoot the cat )

 

[razorsharp]

If you are going to explain an issue, you start with a factual base, not a laughable point. The removal of a single twig left by a passing bird is neither illegal nor is it worth mentioning in this context - for it to be illegal, you would have to show that this one twig was left intensionally for the purposes of constructing a nest. Even if you could do that, the case would never get anywhere but the tabloids.


PS as nobody else has done so yet, welcome to Bird Forum, AliOli

Just because something is unlikely to hold up in court doesn't make it legal, its still a crime, it might not be on the same scale but, that atitude is like breaking the law because you won't get caught, it is ludicrous to think that, uts still the law. Littering is a minor offence but it is a stupid thing to do, it is the law no matter what the scale!!