blackbirds

tim durrant · #1 (**permalink**) 03-01-2010, 09:22 AM

Hi everybody and a happy new year.
Over the past few years we have had blackbirds nesting in our garden. (nothing unusual about that a lot of gardens do)However over the past few weeks there has been a gathering of blackbirds in our garden all male at least six and sometimes a lot more. Can anybody explain why this has happened and where are the females?

Dogghound · #2 (**permalink**) 03-01-2010, 09:32 AM

Migrant birds often group up in winter as they look for food, its likely that this is what you are seeing.

tim durrant · #3 (**permalink**) 05-01-2010, 04:14 PM

thanks dogghound i wasjust curios as iv'e never seen this before

Paul mabbott · #4 (**permalink**) 05-01-2010, 04:21 PM

I'm sure that's correct but I think that also family groups which have spread out over the summer/autumn aggregate to an extent. I've not done any ringing to prove this! However the numbers (ages, genders) of blackbirds which I see in my garden, neighbouring ones, adjacent woods are very similar to the gangs that appear from day to day when the hard weather starts.

Maybe it's a matter of when one finds some food they can all pitch in - food being in short supply but often localised (e.g. where humans have thrown out handfulls of food - a different situation from summer where they can all find their own food in separate places .... Maybe?

tim durrant · #5 (**permalink**) 06-01-2010, 04:47 PM

Hi Paul thanks for that its something iv'e never seen before. Its been quite a hard few weeks here in Norfolk weather wise and your explanation seems to be very plausable. Once again thankyou

Steve_In_Cheshire · #6 (**permalink**) 06-01-2010, 05:44 PM

We have approx 30 blackbirds at the min that visit daily, around a third of them are females. Asda is doing a roaring trade with sulatanas in our household lol, as you can imagine the sultanas dissapear quickly with so many blackbirds, thats on top of some Fieldafres, Song and Mistle Thrushes and a Redwing arrived today and the masses of Starlings are partial to the odd sultana.

Blackbirds are really entertaining, normally i put the food out the night before but with the snow ive had to put the food that goes on the lawn out first thing in the morning, today at first light we had one blackbird sat on the washing line by the house looking into the kitchen, it must have spotted me when i put the light on knowing breakfast is about to arrive or it was dropping a subtle hint, 3 were sat on the garden shed as well which is right by the kitchen window.

When i go out into the garden they just stay there and don`t spook, they seem confident with me about. As soon as the sultanas hit the floor they are around my feet then more of them arrive and with minutes even more arrive, when they know food is on the way or they are contented they sit in the trees at the back and along the panel fence making what sounds like a soft barking noise, its like a really contented noise and they all seem to join in. You will know the noise i mean if you have quite a few blackbirds around.

They are great birds, very intelligent and always entertaining in their own kind of way.

tim durrant · #7 (**permalink**) 07-01-2010, 02:55 PM

i couldn't agree more

Natasha_38 · #8 (**permalink**) 07-01-2010, 03:03 PM

We have also had alot of young males turn up this year. Our resident blackbird seems to spend most of his time seeing them off then the rest bullying the redwings. He is fighting a losing battle though as more & more seem to be appearing! I have been putting out sultanas which they seem to love but another post advised soaking them first - should I do this before putting them out? I haven't previously & they all seem to go.