Todays cast of characters.
Hoppy our recently arrived (about 3 months ago) one legged female blackbird spent maybe half an hour yesterday sitting (uncomfortably) on a branch at knee level giving herself the most thorough preening we have ever seen any bird carry out.
We are thinking that as she has only just got the strength and balance right in her one leg that maybe this is the first time she has managed to do it.
When she arrived in the garden she just crashed into the hedge more or less, and this was her mode of landing for some time, that or a sort of skidding flump onto the patio. What a sight she was, bedraggled and lame and we figured she wouldn't last a day before our lethal cat got her.
The cat we try and keep in the front garden or in the house but inevitably he makes his way round to the back and Annie and I tip each other off and try to keep the various birds safe. 3 years ago he caught that years Robin out the front though and I am haunted yet by the beady eye appealing to me from between his murderous fangs as I charged in vain towards them.
This years Robin 'Robbie' took some time to tame to the extent that he eats off ones hand, and he still is somewhat hesitant and prefers the profeering of offering on a postcard sized piece of wood, although he will eventually if one perserveres long enough land on the hand. He comes when Annie whistles and lands on the patio gate awaiting the ball of cheddar cheese.
Cheddar cheese (Irish) is actually the secret to our amazing success in gathering arounbd us a disparate collection of birds in the garden.
At this time -the turning of the year the winter solstice we have apart from Robbie and Hoppy got 'Starly' and 'Blackie' (names are not particularly original I concede)...the former arrives most often with a clatter of his mates and they forage nervously for scraps...and all scarper when we make a move...apart from one that is....Starly that is. He has been coming back now for 4 years and whhen they fly -he stays. Hence we know it's him and he knows we know. So he takes position on the shed roof usually and waits patiently while the ball is moulded ( Pea size).
Then the caster of said ball makes swinging movements with the hand which movements his head follows. Then lofting it high he catched it mid air and lands back again. He takes the next one and flies off with it and as we like to think he is flying back to his misses on the nest,-a bit early for babes we reckon,-we assign him the male gender.
Blackie has only joined us today after an absence of several months. We knew it was him when we nearly walked on him, he gave out but flew up to the flat roof where we trained him to feed last year to strengthen his odds against the cat. So it has to be him.
Later on today he met Hoppy on the patio and we wondered what would happen. Female blackbirds are more aggressive as a rule than the males at least when its a same species different sex encounter. The males will battle other males for territory -but that territory may contain a female who is not a bit intimidated and drives all and sundry off. We guess that the victorious male on the larger scale mates with the dominant female..if she fancies him.
Female blackbirds have a longer sharper beak than the males and they use it like a spear running towards an interloper with head down. The wise interloper buggers off mighty quickly. We watched, Blackie took stock of this apparition hopping quite fast towards him with spear encouched and decided discretion was called for and hopped it. He went back to the flat roofed summer house three gardens down and continued his advance and retreat ballet with another male which again only began today.
Although not strictly a garden encounter we feel we have to mention the demented gull frequenting roofs all around us. We assume that birds like other humans (oops creatures) can sadly be born with genetic defects which affect their mmental stability or capability. This young gull, full sized but with first year plumage, calls non-stop for help in a demented fashion. It has been doing this for 3 days now and we wish we could help it. (or shoot it!) Periodically an adult will arrive and give it a morsel which has absolutely no effect...it wont fly it wont pick up bread which we have managed to land near it and it will not shut up. Just constant calling. Where I ask is a Buzzard or a Kite when you need one?
As this day drew to a close, we saw Robin tussles going on, so between the blackbirds and Robins we reckon they have been triggered by the lengthening days to start staking out their claims for the breeding season.
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