A bad week for my birds
You know how it is when birds come to your garden, feed, bathe, nest – you feel pleased and proud they have chosen you to be with – and you call them ‘your’ birds.
Well, my birds have had a bad time, and I’ve felt very sad about it this week. First my swallows – they were rather late in settling on which nest to use, laying eggs and finally sitting (they decided on a broken old nest and did not repair it). 
They use a shed I go into every day to fill buckets of water for my geese, and I noticed they were quiet – one on the nest and the other sitting very close. On closer inspection I discovered the bird on the nest to be dead. As soon as I lifted it down, another swallow came in and sat on the eggs. It is a query to me as I’ve never seen this before.
It was an amazing thing to have a swallow in my hand, to see it so close, and I was surprised at just how tiny and fine its legs and feet were.
Then the following day, on arriving at my workshop, there were feathers all over the road – I thought swallow feathers to begin with, fearing they had suffered another death, but it was a blackbird, a male – run-over, squashed.
I’ve been watching my blackbird pair raise a chick, and they’ve been close around for days pulling worms for their now fledged growing youngster, and I’ve enjoyed the scene. Mum will have to cope on her own from now on. Please, if you’re driving along the lanes – slow down there’s wildlife about (my wildlife)! I do hope you’re doing better with your birds.
PS: The mother blackbird does seem to be doing well and is constantly followed by a huge and very noisily demanding chick.
4 Comments
so sorry about your birds. I know what you mean. they come to live in your spaces, get used to you. I love it when they nest close by. we found a dead blue jay a couple of weeks ago.
I know you love your birds too Ellen, and I love reading about them. You begin to feel very responsible for them don’t you! Anyway they brighten my days – the new swallow pair are sitting very close, so I’m watching carefully to see if anything comes from the eggs! Fingers crossed.
We have two pairs of blackbirds in our garden this year and each were raising three chicks. We seem to be constantly trying to shoo them out of the lane and away from the passing tractors, but unfortunately, two of them haven’t made it. A few months ago, I put an old stone trough in the garden (following something Jennifer said on this site) and I’ve loved watching the parent birds giving their fledglings a drink. I know what you mean about getting attached!
How lovely to hear about your birds Sue – and that your Blackbirds have done so well (apart from the road bit). I’m so pleased too that they’ve come and used the trough – what pleasure they bring!