What A Whopper.

[ferlew]

The blackbirds who tap on the window for currants etc, have brought their offspring in this morning. Just the one, but he/she is bigger than the parents.
It hasn't the nerve yet to come on the sill, but it sits on the fence begging from mum.
Not seen the thrushes' offspring yet though.

[gness]

Ferlew...that's lovely. My daughter has a blackbird that follows at her heels for sultanas...she tried to ignore him yesterday so he went and stood in the kitchen doorway tapping on the glass...x

[Tuvok]

We're being trained by Mr Blacky - he doesn't want seed, just worms. Or meat!

Mrs Blacky also occasionally appears if worms are on the go!

He'll sit and look in the window. He'll follow you around.

[ferlew]

OOhh, this time they have brought two fat little babies.

[boxtops]

Is the big one definitely a blackbird - not a cuckoo........?

[ferlew]

They are both definitely fat little blackbird babies. The parents have been coming here for years now. We can tell the male one because he has a patch of white feathers on one wing.
We haven't heard the cuckoo yet, usually do any time now, as it sits on the phone wire cuckoo-ing for ages.

[boxtops]

Lucky you - I haven't heard a cuckoo for years!

[marval]

That sounds lovely, we haven't heard cuckoos for years either.

[ferlew]

We are lucky I know, we hear them every year.
The last 2/3 years we have seen them too. We were surprised how large they are, and how clear the markings are.

[Chipchopper]

I think the young may appear bigger due to the fluffy, downy feathers they still have at the moment.

[ferlew]

I am sure you are correct. :)

[ferlew]

Sad to say, I found one of the fatties lifeless on my lawn this evening. :(

[Tilly2]

Aw!

[tonyav]

Aw. Has a cat had it, ferlew ?.

[ferlew]

Not a mark on it, nor a feather to be seen, sad.

[ferlew]

A loose feather I mean.

[tonyav]

Mmmmm, strange that, ferlew.

[Ann]

Ah why ferlew? Flipping cats I bet. We have a little family of blackbirds at the mo, we have spent the last 2 days protecting them from next doors cat by sitting on guard in the garden! They have 2 tiny babies with stumpy tails they look like little brown chicks, but can fly but very clumsily. They are like naughty children playing hide and seek with Mum and Dad, you can almost read the parents' minds when they take food to where babies were a couple of minutes before and they have hopped it!!

[ferlew]

These fatties were quite good fliers, been watching them the last 2 days.
I know it's daft, but I feel bereaved.

[Tilly2]

You will do, ferlew. It's natural to mourn a loss of a little life.

[Ann]

Sure you do ferlew - I dread it happening to "ours".