Well, it seems that our mild autumn has come to an end, and the chill of winter has firmly settled upon us. At this time of year plenty of garden birds can be seen rummaging around looking for food, both on the ground and in the bare branched trees. Blackbirds (Turdus merula) are one the most familiar sights in the winter British garden, and didn’t choose make themselves scarce last week while Shirley and myself were disrupting the peace and digging up the entrance garden bed. One particular female followed our progress throughout the day, and as a testament to our healthy worm population, was already nice and plump.
While the male blackbird is distinctive for his glossy, jet black plumage, and bright orange bill, the females and juveniles are often overlooked. There are plenty of juveniles about this time of year, and for their inexperience are often more cocky than older birds. Like the female, they are a uniform brown above with a pale, speckled underside, though the colouration is more reddy than the female, who wears a distinctively dull shade of brown.
The UK blackbirds are mostly resident, though some may migrant to Southern Europe during the winter. Those that stay will feed mostly on insects and earthworms, and are often seen probing the ground and tossing leaves out of the way in their search or them. An untidy pile of leaves in the lawn is often an indication that a blackbird has been on the prowl. However, they will generally eat whatever they can find, especially during the lean months of winter, and are happy to take berries from low shrubs such as cotoneaster, and windfall fruit such as apples.
If there’s a shortage of berries in your neighbourhood, you can help out the local blackbirds, as well as the other birds, by putting out a mixture of food to help tide them over. Blackbirds are particular to suet pellets and fruit set out on the ground or on a low table feeder. Make sure it’s a safe distance from any handy hiding places for predators though! If you have the space though, why not plant some berry-bearing plants for the birds next year? A lot of bird populations are struggling due to shortages of food and habitat, and even some of our most traditional garden birds are declining at a worrying rate. Happily, with around 6 million pairs of breeding blackbirds in the British Isles, there will be no missing the exquisite song that, come early February, will herald the coming of spring.
Photos: Juvenile blackbird (left); Female blackbird on feeder (right). Nigel Blake (rspb-images.com)