Tame blackbird

[Bo's mummy]

At last! Somewhere I can share my experiences!
For a couple of years I've been feeding a tame male blackbird (and, in turn, feeding his off-spring!). I can identify him because he has two white feathers on his breast.
I have a set routine in the morning and all the birds are waiting on surrounding roofs - rooks, jackdaws, collared doves, robins etc.
This blackbird however is something else! He 'buzzes' me when he's impatient for food, he waits within one foot of where I'm preparing the food and eats before I've finished. He's now taken to following me into my shed and sits on anything inside while I fetch all the differnt components of the feed.
When I talk to him he quite often ends up perched on one leg, his eyes start to close and his beak opens (my husband says I have the same effect on him!).
A few days ago he walked into the kitchen! He knows I live in the house and he's buzzed me on the driveway when I'm getting into my car.
This evening I said to my husband that I know the day is coming when he won't turn up and I'll never see him again (the bird - not my husband!).
It's a bit difficult for me to maintain this relationship as I have three mad spaniels and one in particular is gunning for the bird.
However, I get massive pleasure from my relationship with this blackbird and he gets his heart's desire in food.
What else could we want?

[Za]

Hi Bo`s mummy and welcome to WAB sounds like you have a free range pet there, all the benefits of a pet without the cleaning up

I just have a horde of feral pigeons staring in my window like a scene from Alfred Hitchcocks *the Birds*

Za

[TeresaW]

Wow that took me right back to my childhood (and believe me, its a long way back now ) My grandmother fed the birds in the garden every day, except when I was there, then it was my job. I've had starlings feeding straight out of my hand in that garden.

But Gran also had a blackbird, with specks of white in his wings, who would come in through the back door in the summer and demand his breakfast!

Such memories, thanks for reminding me

[posie]

Hello Bo's Mummy, and welcome to WAB....what a lovely and interesting story, hopefully we'll get lots more similar stories on this thread...I do feel sorry for your spaniel though, I bet he hates the bird, 'cos he must sense you love it so much.....Posie..

[Cowgirl]

Hi Bo's mummy, you are so lucky. I would love to be able to create such a relationship with a blackbird like that.

I am trying to get into the habit of feeding a few sultanas & grapes in a morning & when I get home from work to try & get one a bit tamer as well, (no cats around here during the day) but he's having none of it, flies off as soon as I move, I'm also not very consistent at putting stuff out, & remembering to buy in new supplies. Rubbish memory!

I will keep trying though, on an evening, he does land on the feeder & looks in through my window when there's nothing out for him, which reminds me to put out stuff, so it's a start.

[Bo's mummy]

Thank you all for your kind comments - I don't feel quite so mad now!!

Cowgirl - it took ages for my relationship with the blackbird to develop.
I'm retired so I can make sure that I feed exactly the same stuff at approximately the same time and in the same routine every morning - maybe that helps.
I buy loads of Tesco's Value sultanas and their Suet Sprinkles - the sultanas are the blackbird's favourite and the suet is what the robins take first.

I've noticed just lately that a young blackbird (sex not known yet) has been joining in and I wonder if it's come from my blackbird's nest?
The new one isn't so tame but I'm working on it!

I have my grandson five mornings a week and he now helps me with the routine - he gets great pleasure from seeing the blackbird and the robins so close and being responsible for their care.
It teaches him so much.
Before he was five years old he could identify a tomato plant just by sight!

Why didn't I find this site before!!!!!

[Christina H]

Blackbirds seem to be a lot tamer than I’d realised. I found this forum after searching online for the topic after a male blackbird hopped into our kitchen. We’ve got a small enclosed garden that is free of cats or other predators in the day and he’s parked his 3 offspring here while he hunts for food. We always have a good supply of porridge oats on the bird table which the adult birds appreciate and sometimes feed to the babies. I’ve never known a bird get so close, not even a Robin, he’ll come within inches of me.

[~T~]

I have the complete opposite with blackbirds and robins being the most wary in my garden and certainly won't come down if they know people are about. It might be to do with the amount of cats around here though. Strangely enough the boldest bird that comes to my garden is a male bullfinch who will sit eating on the feeders while im pottering about gardening only a few feet away.

[Bo's mummy]

Unfortunately I think my blackbird has died.
He brought what looked like a fully fledged youngster to the garden late last summer, presumably to show it where to find food, and he looked awful.
He looked as if someone had back-combed all his feathers and I knew I wouldn't see him much longer.

He didn't show at all during the winter and I've never seen him again.

This spring I had a pair of jackdaws coming close to the house and one of them had a couple of white feathers. Bad luck - one of my mad spaniels dashed through my legs and almost caught them and they've kept their distance since.

I do miss my blackbird!

[namacleod]

I've formed a very similar relationship with a male blackbird in my garden. It started as follows:

• I made my own ground mix containing sultanas
• I only put out a handful at a time as the woodpigeons devour everything
• I noticed the blackbird was always watching and was always first down to get the sultanas
• Then he started standing by the empty ground feeder waiting ...
• When he did this I encouraged him by going out and puting down a handul of ground mix.
• He then decided to go one step further and start demanding sultanas ...
• Now when he wants fed he hops up the steps and stares into the french windows at the ground mix tub, beats his wings against the door or calls for his food at the steps
• If you don't give him enough he'll ask for seconds and this goes on about 15 times a day ... and I just can't resist feeding him

We've even had him feeding in the house, he'll follow you to the car looking for food and eat with a foot of me. He's even followed me around the house and appeared at upstairs windows looking to be fed.

He's a terrible looking bird with a mangled foot - so we know it's Blackie - but as someone said you get a lot out of the relationship ....