Help please blackbird chicks (1 Viewer)

[Zulu Merula]

I hope so too, it is a stressful time when the chicks are at such a delicate young age! I suspect cats may have got the other blackbird chicks, as there were at least 3 in the nest- but I only ever saw one once they'd fledged, which is unusual for our blackbirds- last year they had four broods of four chicks and a fifth brood of FIVE!!! Poor Mr. Blackbird seemed so stressed out with five demanding birds literally dive bombing him for food whenever it came near his beak and sometimes even when he had none to give!! It was funny though coz with the fourth brood, I was in the garden a lot and I ended up feeding them raisins to help out their poor stressed Dad, and it wasn't long before they began following ME! I kid you not, I once was having a nice snooze on the garden chair in the sun, and heard all this cheeping, when I looked down, 4 little fledglings were waiting for their food! It was sweet but I did get worried at the time that I might be imprinting them, so I started hiding raisins all around the garden to encourage them to forage. Starlings and trespassing blackbirds kept coming and nicking them though! Oh, it was entertaining, hehehe.

 

[Stuart Watson]

Great stuff with the lookout shifts- shame the darn cat got one , but at least they`ve had a good few seasons - it sounds like they`ll bounce back with another big brood soon.

 

[Mary Evelyn]

Me too snapper.5 cats come in here all year round and at this time of the year its a nightmare.
Water(cats hate it and it does them no harm)is the only thing that keeps them away from here, even the dogs only deter them when I send them out.Like you when home, we are on guard all the time.
Shooting water at them does work and they aren't too keen to return- however like me, when you work full time it is impossible to keep up.

 

[snapper]

Me too snapper.5 cats come in here all year round and at this time of the year its a nightmare.
Water(cats hate it and it does them no harm)is the only thing that keeps them away from here, even the dogs only deter them when I send them out.Like you when home, we are on guard all the time.
Shooting water at them does work and they aren't too keen to return- however like me, when you work full time it is impossible to keep up.

Hi Mary have not seen any cats for a couple of days touch wood I think they may have got the message I picked up a lump of soil/clay & slung it at the last cat who had the cheek to sit there on the fence looking down in the bush where the blackbirds had nested I am trying to calm down a bit now after missing the cat with the soil scaring it off but almost putting the window through at the school behind us.

Regards Snapper.

 

[Mary Evelyn]

Hi Mary have not seen any cats for a couple of days touch wood I think they may have got the message I picked up a lump of soil/clay & slung it at the last cat who had the cheek to sit there on the fence looking down in the bush where the blackbirds had nested I am trying to calm down a bit now after missing the cat with the soil scaring it off but almost putting the window through at the school behind us.

Regards Snapper.

Hi Snapper ,
Haven't been on for a while.Hope your Blackbirds are doing well.
We have young here all doing ok for the moment.

 

[snapper]

Hi Snapper ,
Haven't been on for a while.Hope your Blackbirds are doing well.
We have young here all doing ok for the moment.

Hi Mary yes they are all doing fine thankyou I get a fleeting view of them from time to time the young starlings are now on there own so the garden is pretty quiet now the house sparrow is sitting eggs so there young will be next causing havoc in the garden.

Regards Snapper

 

[Mary Evelyn]

Hi Mary yes they are all doing fine thankyou I get a fleeting view of them from time to time the young starlings are now on there own so the garden is pretty quiet now the house sparrow is sitting eggs so there young will be next causing havoc in the garden.

Regards Snapper

Super and enjoy the sparrows. B

 

[Zulu Merula]

Glad the story had a happy ending overall. Can't wait to see my Blackbird chicks, as their second nest failed (1 egg that didn't hatch). Good luck with the delightful spuggies! hehe.

 

[Dutchcats]

Okay, I hope you people will forgive me - a catperson - to come here. Although I do have five cats, I can assure you that the birds in our garden are pretty safe, because my cats are in a run. And I have very little sympathy for people who let their cats run free WITHOUT a cat-bell this time of year.
So please don't shoot me.
Now, the reason I came here:
Our garden, though not very big, is something of a bird sanctuary. There aren't many cats in our neighbourhood, and I've tried to make my garden cat-proof - to make it harder for other cats to get in, and for ours to get out in case I ever leave the door open.
So ever since we moved here, five years ago, the blackbirds have nested in our garden - opposite the cat run.
We also have great tits nesting in our garden (I'm kind of proud since I made their nesting box myself) and sometimes blue tits and sparrows.
But the blackbirds are my favourites.
I think it is the same blackbird couple that builds their nest there every year. The mummy blackbird acts as if I've been her friend since high school, she comes very close, and when she has a nest she lets me come very close too.
The daddy bird is a bit more shy.
So, last week, on wednesday, the eggs hatched.
Five nearly bald little creatures with large beaks and floppy necks - ever so cute.
I had mixed feelings about it. Because every year the nest gets destroyed, usually by magpies. And it's just heart breaking to see the parents panicking, and I work all day so I often don't even notice what's going on until after it has happened.
But this year, the babies made it for a full week. I carefully positioned a webcam in the bush to monitor what was going on, and for once I was hopeful. We hadn't trimmed the bush so it offered more cover than ever before, and before long the chicks would be out and about.

Then this morning there was no more action going on in that bush. So I checked the nest, and it was empty. One chick was lying dead on the ground underneath the nest - no sign of the others.

I think it's almost impossible that they have left the nest already - so either the magpies, or a neighbouring cat got them during the night.
The nest was not destroyed.
I tried to find information online about how long it takes for baby blackbirds to be adult enough to leave the nest. Of course I hope someone will tell me that it's entirely plausible they left the nest on their own, and that they were not killed by some evil bird or cat - but I am almost certain that hope is in vain.
So my Internet search brought me to your forum, and I hope someone here can tell me: how long does it take after hatching, for baby blackbirds to reach the age at which they do leave the nest?

Marianne

 

[Mary Evelyn]

Hi Marianne,
My belief is that fledglings leave the nest between 10 and 19 days from the eggs being hatched.As it's only 8 days I think it may be bad news and I am really sorry.
I would try and make the bush thicker and denser so the Blackbird can get in deep.That way the Magpie and cats would have a difficult job.
Sorry Marianne but I think you may have lost the young this time but good-luck for the future.

 

[Dutchcats]

Thanks for replying, and thanks for the information. So only a few more days and they would have been 'safe'...
I don't know if I want them to even try nesting in our garden. Part of me does, but so far, EVERY nest but ONE in the last five years (and they build about 3 per season) has been destroyed and it makes me so sad.
I also found out it wasn't magpies - it was a cat. It left some cat hairs at the crime scene.
Freaking owners should really fit it with a bell, this time of year, that's the least they can do.
I went out in the garden tonight to watch the blackbirds for half an hour, I guess I was hoping I would find one live chick still.
But their behaviour is not that of parenting black birds. The male was fighting another male over territory, and he was singing up in the tree - they don't have time for that sort of thing when they have babies to feed. I didnt' see the female.
I wish cat owners were a little more responsible

 

[sue]

help

It's at the right age to leave the nest,even though they can't fly well yet.They will clamber around until they are old enough to do so...(btw.Your youngster is a female)
I would take it to a rehabilitation center or rear it myself.I wouldn't put it outside as it seems that the local predators know were it is.
If you would like to raise it yourself(I don't recomend it as it would become humanized...) you can try feeding it on soaked cat food(yes that's right) and mealworms.Force feed for the first few days,afterwards it will open it's mouth on it's own(well ususally they do).

Hope this helped.

Dimitris

edit:If you are wondering were I've learnt all this well living in a country full of hunters and bird keepers helps...

PLEASE CAN YOU HELP, i have 3 fledgling blackbirds, just left the nest this evening , how long before they are out of harms way , i have a preditor that i may not be able to keep from them , apreciate any advice right now , thankyou ,,sue

 

[sue]

Just come in after walking the dog to here blackbird alarm calls ran around the outside of the house to find a magpie in the garden soon as it saw me it flew off the blackbird pair still kept on by the way these birds are nesting in the garden with young I went ot the back of the house to see if I could see anything else there was nothing so I came in the house & through to the back garden to find a young blackbird on the garage back door step the blackbird alarm calls still ringing out so a walked on to th lawn & there was the problem just jumping out of the bushes & up the fence a black cat which when it saw me soon left the alarm calls went on for about 15 to 20 mins with male & female carrying meal worms in there mouths but not going to the chick the chick finally made cover to my hedge & since then I have seen one other chick at the other end of the garden my questions are 1. is this bird to young to be out of the nest & 2. why are they not feeding it the chick has not made a sound I don't even no if they no where the chicks are as I was typing this my wife asked me to come & look at something she could see on the lawn it was one of the young dead don't even no how it's got in the middle of the lawn it was not there before & I have not seen the cat or any alarm calls since any help or advice please.

Snapper.

can someone help , havnt time to work the site out quick enough to get advise,2nd brood ,lost all 5 of the 1st brood ,1 dead , 3 out of the nest just last evening the 1st july , preditors around , 1 on the shed roof 2 on the ground , HOW LONG before they can get out of harms way , the dad is very vocal , and i really want them to keep the babies......Sue...tameside :storm: