Just seen a baby blackbird in my back garden looking a little worse for wear. Parents nowhere
in sight. How long do the adults usually look after their young before they are left to fend for
themselves?
Blackbird babies leave the nest quite early, being unable to fly properly and having a very short tail. The parent know where the chicks are and come back to feed them until the chicks can join them on their feeding trips, about 10 days after they fledge, it is a gradual thing. Juveniles often stay on in their parent's territory until the end of Autumn when they disperse.