Blackbird's Eggs

[Emily Ball]

I have a blackbird nesting in my garden. She was on the nest yesterday evening but I have just been to have a peep and she isn't there. There are eggs in the nest and I would like to know how long they can be left unattended if she has just gone to find some food, i.e. without the warmth of her body to incubate them?

[burnhal]

It can depend on the weather- on a hot day like today it can be a fair while. Also- most small birds dont start incubating til the clutch is complete so that they all hatch together. So the first egg in a clutch could be left several days before incubation starts.

[don1]

Trust me Emily, Mrs. blackbird knows what she is doing.

[Emily Ball]

Thanks both. I wasn't too worried because it's pretty hot at the mo but  I wouldn't have liked to see the nest abandoned. I'll keep you posted if and when the eggs hatch. Just been out to have a quick peek and she's back!

[Robinia]

I've worried about this too Emily.  It's a bit startling when you carefully take a peek into the nest & you see a beady eye staring back at you! It's so hot & dry here they've got little jackhammers to dig up the worms! I've been putting out plenty of apples & raisins for them though!

[don1]

I know it's tempting to want to help care for our little feathered friends at times like this but the best advice is leave them alone, dont keep peeking in each day to see how they are getting on.

You are not their grannie.

If you want to help put food out for them IN WINTER never in summer, food balls will cost you a pound a week to save the lives of dozens of birds per week in the coldest months.

One month from now you will see five blackbird youngsters learning to fly and then you can assist by keeping cats away.

[Robinia]

Sorry don1 but just try telling the birds in my garden that I'm not going to feed them in summer & only spend �1 per week in winter!  There'd be a riot!  Not only do I feed them but I also make mud pies to help them build their nests.  There's a waiting list to live in my garden!

Feed the birds - see RSPB here 

[Cetti]

I will stick my beak in now Emily and say please don't worry about Mamma Blackie deserting her kids, because she won't. When it's so baking hot she needs  to bathe, either water to keep her feathers in good condition, or a dust bath to remove mites - and a good feed will also be essential.

Feeding birds is now an all year round neccessity. Opinions have changed in the last few years and it's been realised that if the food is available for the parents they will conserve much needed energy in finding food for the kids and not themselves - thus ensuring  greater chick survival. Good quality mixed seed for the ground feeders, peanut pieces or sunflower hearts in wire mesh feeders for the bird table.  No whole peanuts till the autumn as chicks may choke on these, although they are a lot brighter than we give them credit for and usually leave them alone anyway.

[kev100]

Robinia birds lay their eggs at a certain time of the year because they know instinctively that when their eggs hatch food will be plentiful, this has worked for them for tens of millions of years and you believe that only the advice of the RSPB can save them from extinction?

For the love of god woman get a grip on reality.

[Robinia]

Heat making you irritable is it Kev? 

[Rystan]

If the birds bring you joy then feed away any time you please.

It's a blackbird, not a California Condor. The balance of the blackbird population does not rest on whether or not we put out some sunflower seed. You can't hurt them. Enjoy yourself.

I do agree you should steer clear of the nest though, birds get awfully touchy and can abandon a nest if they feel threatened. In trying to help you could actually make the situation worse.

[kev100]

Actually robinia what this site needs is a selection of smiley faces to show when the written word is meant to be taken lightly, or whatever.

Without them words can seem harsh when that was not the intention.

[Emily Ball]

Actually folks, for those of you who are worried I might be agitating the blackbird when I have a quick peek at her nest- she is comfortably ensconced in a thick tangle of weigela, honeysuckle, jasmine and clematis (I've been meaning to bring a bit of order to my borders for a while now) and I take only a very quick look to see if everything's o.k. from a distance of about 5 feet and she seems quite unperturbed, even with my gangling great Setter bounding around the garden and sniffing around. Yes, I do keep my bird-feeders well-stocked throughout the winter months and leave the birds to forage for themselves during the summer, as I think their natural  insect and fruit diet is better for them when they are rearing young. It is very heartening to see that there are plenty of you who are concerned ,as I am, about our wildlife.