They are always brave birds and in past years it is not unusual to find the parents of a new nest or offspring swooping on and scolding a cat or person who goes too close for comfort. This year however, in early Spring, they started make their loud 'chinking' cries as soon as anybody ventured outside. No matter where you are in the garden, they come and find you and keep up a deafening chorus of scolding disapproval. It's earsplitting!
My cat is so terrified she won't go outside...
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| Can you see the Blackbird in the bush to the left? |
Yesterday their fury woke me at 5.00 am. My cat was on the bed and the Blackbird was on my windowsill...
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One came nearly into the room...
And told my cat exactly what he thought of her...
What a brave, furious bird.
I do respect their courage and I love Blackbirds but they are driving us mad!
That was just lovely, Jane! And your cat is SO beautiful! I love birds, but not so much this year. They are still eating all my cherries, as they ripen! I tied things to the tree, even a big windmill which makes a noise when it goes round, but... the little "beggars" are so determined, nothing defies them! I'm fighting a lost battle, I know. All I can do is eat the occasional almost ripe cherry they have not noticed and be happy with that.
ReplyDeleteI love your pictures and I WANT your cat!
ANNA
Hello Jane:
ReplyDeleteWe want your cat too!!
Gosh this is all beginning to sound like a well known Hitchcock film. The boldness of the Blackbird is quite remarkable and would be unbelievable if it had not been caught so perfectly in your images. How much longer you must be thinking....
Thank you Anna, I'm glad you like my cat. The children named her Malibu and she is a perfect tabby. I know what you mean about birds and fruit, as a child my Father was in a permanent battle trying to save our raspberries!
ReplyDeleteHello Jane and Lance,
ReplyDeleteI do feel a bit mean-minded but yes, I am rather fed up! My neighbour has spotted where one nest is, so maybe the blackbirds will calm down once the babies are off and independant. One good thing- Mali hasn't caught a single bird this Spring and Summer!
I knew blackbirds were territorial, but that is an amazingly brave bird...and one very bemused cat!
ReplyDeleteJulie x
I do understand how you feel. The house martins return each year to build several nests under the eaves of my house, and usually right outside the bedroom windows too. It is lovely to see them, but like your blackbirds, they wake me up around 5.00 am, and yes, it drives me mad too!
ReplyDeleteAbby x
This is hilarious, particulary the bird sitting on the window giving out to Malibu. I know I should not be laughing and I do have sympathy for you.
ReplyDeleteDo you suppose they think you should move?
Helen xx
Hello Julie, It is funny seeing the cat's face, she makes these little angry 'chuntering' noises but doesn't do anything brave and she hates it because we are laughing! Jane x
ReplyDeleteHi Abby,
ReplyDeleteI love house martins and wish they nested nearby..... but not outside my window, I agree, they are very noisy! Jane x
Hello Helen,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to have taken these photos, I was snapping away and it wasn't until I uploaded them that I saw I'd caught the one in the window with Mali right there. I wish I had a high speed lens but even so his fury is captured isn't it?!
They will probably forgive us when we feed them in the winter...Jane x
Me again Jane....have a lovely weekend with your daughter too!
ReplyDeleteJulie x
Goodness Jane, what a cheeky bird. I think little birds are not as sweet as they would have us believe. We have a West Highland Terrior called Sparky and the birds torment him, they sit on the guttering and shout at him whilst he goes mad jumping and trying to get at him, they even steal his dog food. I've had my eyes opened! I do love blackbirds though, my dad said that when he died he was coming back as a blackbird! Hope you enjoyed your coffee this morning? Thanks for visiting. Have a lovely day, love Linda x
ReplyDeleteVery cute, birds are teasers when they see cats, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteHi Linda,
ReplyDeleteMy coffee was O.K. but not brilliant, I'll have to wait until I'm in Paris this weekend for something really tasty I think!
Your poor little dog, my other cat Blackett gets very confused by all the noise and bother... but then life does seem to confuse him rather anyway...Jane x
Hello Jane
ReplyDeleteI have just discovered you and your photos of the kamikaze blackbird.
Here, it's the magpies that gang together to bully the local cats and like your blackbirds flap and divebomb and screech. However, I've never seen one as bold as your bird.
I look forward to following your future posts.
Anna
Hello Anna,
ReplyDeleteHow nice of you to visit! I too have never met such brave,bonkers birds as these blackbirds. As 'Linnea' says, they seem to enjoy teasing the poor cat.
Have a happy wekend, Jane
Greetings From Southern California
ReplyDeleteI added myself to follow your blog.
I invite you to visit and follow TOGB.
Have a Nice Day :-)
BTW, Great story and photos!
I'm trying to add you to my reading list, but this contraption/my blog/computer does not seem to work properly, will in time though, hopefully.
ReplyDeleteHello again, How nice to here from an 'old Geezer', I'm glad you like my blog. I have just become a flollower as like 'Linnea', I have been having problms with my computer! Jane x
ReplyDeleteMy sister sent me a link to your blogspot today as your blackbird experience is almost exactly the same as ours. Whilst we were away on holiday blackbirds built a nest in the clematis just beside the window above my desk. When we discovered this on our return and because I wanted to be able to work without disturbing them I closed the curtains. However the male blackbird spotted our cat - who, incidentally, looks very like yours. He set up a racket scolding her every time she set a paw outside, and if she tried to duck into the garden unseen he swooped at her repeatedly driving her back into the house. She decided it was safer to stay indoors and spent days on her rug on a chair beside me in our study. However, the blackbird spotted her through the window, even although she was a brown cat on a brown rug, and kept up the racket for hours on end - so much so that I had to telephone our bird-loving neighbours to reassure them that our cat wasn't sitting salivating under the blackbirds' nest. To try to stop the din being made by the blackbird I closed more curtains so he couldn't see the cat - but he moved to another bush just so that he could still see her. He is still around and the cat is still very wary of going out....
ReplyDeletefrom Another Jane, also a bibliophile and aleurophile
Hello Jane, It is just the same with me, I too had to assure all the neighbours that my cat was inside and innocent, not wickedly drooling over the nest!
ReplyDeleteAt the moment the cat concerned, Mali, has lost her 'miaow'. We don't know if it is physical or due to the mental trauma of blackbird fury. If it doesn't come back in a couple of days we will take her to the vet, although in all other ways she seems perfectly fit. Thank you for your comment, I'm so glad you dropped by. Jane