Injured/unwell blackbird

[moog]

Hello all,
I have two pairs of blackbirds visiting my garden frequently, and the males often come up to my bedroom window for food (there is a window feeder there). This morning I at about 4:30am I noticed a lot of "clucking" sort of noises outside, this is the noise they usually make if they've come to the window but the food has run out. I went to the window and saw one of the blackbirds perched on a garden seat below the window, which isn't unusual. What was unusual was that he didn't then proceed to come up to the window, so I kept an eye on him, and he stayed perched there for a good 25 mins. It seemed a bit unusual so I went down and put out an apple out for him to see how he'd react. When I was outside I noticed that he looked in a bad way, seems to only have one tail feather left, missing lots of feathers (though he has always been v.scruffy) and he didn't move when I came outside. I put food out for him, and he has been eating fine, but he doesn't seem able to fly, and hasn't moved out of that little part of the garden all day (about 5m square) and has spent most of the day hiding under a hedge.

I don't know whether he is ill, or has been in a fight or what, but I'm a bit worried and if there's anything I can do I would like to help. We don't have cats visiting the garden, we have a dog (who hasn't taken any interest in him today) and occasionally the Sparrowhawk visits. He's fully grown, eating and has the sense to take cover when the dog or magpies are near, is there anything I should do?

Thanks for any advice, I know it might seem silly as he is a wild animal and maybe should be left to his own devices, but all the same if there's anything I can do to help him I would like to.

[scout]

It's very unusual to have 2 pairs of Blackbirds in your garden as they are highly territorial and wont tolerate each others presence. Could it be that it's 2 adults and two fledglings? If it's not then maybe the injured Blackbird has been attacked by one or both of the other pair.

Either way, i think you've done all that you can to help the little fella.

[moog]

Yes, I realise that. I think only one pair are nesting here and the others are in a garden across the road- but for the past few weeks they've been coming into our garden (I reckon because we have the nicest/most food They're always chasing each other around and not very tolerant of each other, but hadn't seen them actually fight before.
The idea that he might be a littl'un is interesting, I haven't seen any blackbird chicks at all this year, and I assumed that if they'd had any that had survived I would have seen them because they're in the garden all the time and I'm on study leave spending all day in my bedroom which overlooks the garden & feeders (very distracting!!). He does seem quite small, and as I said is very scruffy but doesn't seem to have the brown wing feathers of a juvenille. Worth considering though, thanks for your reply!

[moog]

Just thought I would update this to say that "Jack" not only made it through the night, but is still with us! He spends most of his time in a sheltered part of the garden where our main feeders are, he's still hobbling around and can't really fly and has made himself a cosy little place to sleep under a nice dense bush under my bedroom window. He's eating & drinking fine and his lady and chick come to visit him periodically, with the other blackbirds leaving him well alone now, all in all a much better result than I could have expected for the little guy.

[moog]

If anyone could advise me here, I would really appreciate it.

It is now 10 days since I found this bird and he is still alive.
He mainly lives under the bush still, coming out a few times a day to eat. When he comes out I bring him some food and sit with him while he eats it to keep other blackbirds away. I take the food away when he's finished so as not to attract them to where he is. He always has clean water available.

Under one of his wings there is a bald patch (just bigger than a 50p) with a very light scratch on it (not red, swollen, deep, discoloured or scabby). He is still limping, and holds one of his legs up sometimes like a flamingo. When he is eating, he sometimes nestles down like a duck (?!) and occasionally seems quite sleepy, which is worrying me a bit. Having said that, he can be quite animated, and can move pretty fast when the other blackbirds come after him.

I think the biggest problem he is facing is constantly being harassed by other blackbirds (about 5 visit the garden, constantly chasing each other and if they see him they always go after him).
If anyone could advise me as to what I can do to help him, I'd really appreciate it. As it is, I feel my options are:

1. Leave things as they are, hope for the best.

2. I have a dog kennel a few feet away that I could put him in which would protect him from other blackbirds, but I don't know if he'd be happy there.

3. Try to find a local wildlife shelter/hospital which might take him where he could have some space and be safe from blackbird attacks?

4. Try and find some way of deterring the blackbirds from the little area where he is?!

I have no idea which would be better for him, but if anyone has any advice or further suggestions I'd really appreciate it. If it helps, I am in Cheshire, near Tarporley.