Hi, we've always been impressed by the bravery of the blackbirds in the neighbourhood who think nothing of watching you dig the garden and will readily run between your legs to get at the worms etc.
Recently we've had one that seems to crave our company and will sit close by in the hedge or on the grass or decking in the sun for very long periods.
It has absolutely no fear of humans and allows us to walk past it (4 or 5 feet away) as it sunbathes. Getting too close though is not possible yet and I was wondering if anybody had similar experiences and if anybody has any ideas on what we could do to perpetuate the relationship.
We do not put out seeds (there are a sufficient number of neighbours who do that) and only provide drinking water and bathing facilities. There's plenty of protein to be had from the lawn and hedgerow.
Hello Walrus - yes we have an absolute glut of blackbirds this year. Along with the robin I would say they are the friendliest of the garden birds and can become quite tame - although they are also quite fickle in that they can be your 'best friend' when they're particularly hungry but when the sun is shining and there are berries on the bush they do tend to blow a little cool.
During winter and when they are breeding I always have a pocketful of sultanas/raisins, which they absolutely love - they also love cheese (mild so it doesn't upset their tummies) but this is not as 'pocket-friendly' ;) I find that the males are friendlier than the females, who tend to be more 'careful'. The males often follow me around the garden, staying just a couple of feet away - but if my hand goes into my pocket they often run and stand at my feet (the robin goes one further and stands on the edge of the feeder whilst I fill it - and both have been known to tap on the window). As the starlings often crowd the feeders, and the blackbirds can be wussies, the regular blackbirds always come to the patio doors and look beseechingly through the glass - they also sunbathe in that spot so that they are close when the doors open and sultanas fly out to where they are.
All in all - I would say that if you want to foster a closer relationship with these birds the advice would be the same as any woman would give her daughter 'the way to his heart is through his stomach' ;)
By using raisins i have now managed to get one of the male blackbirds to fly to within a couple of feet of me when i do a specific whistle, he will hop around where i am sat making a quiet but slightly impatient sounding clucking noise until i produce the goods!! Like Deb it seems the girls are much more timid...
yes - I also have a whistle.................well actually I have two different whistles, one for the blackbirds/starlings etc and one for the tits. If you do a specific whistle every time you throw something out for them they soon associate the whistle with food magically appearing (a tip from behavioural psychology - think pavlov's dogs and classical conditioning specifically) and that way you can get them to come to a whistle (God I am so glad that it's not just me stood in the garden whistling for birds - I wasn't brave enough to own up to it Goose!) but yes they do let you know when they want something!!! It's funny how the females are more timid and yet they often appear to be more aggressive when defending their territory (apart from during the spring when the males get very silly).
Actually whilst it's confession time and I already am looking like a loon..............I am also very good at breaking up fights between blackbirds. During the spring it was absolutely hilarious. I would knock on the patio door, whilst opening it, wag a finger and shout 'enough' in a very stern voice. The number of times they would look sheepishly at the ground and dip their heads in a submissive way, then walk away from each other, whilst keeping a weather eye on me. Mind you, I always rewarded them for stopping fighting with some sultanas. It got to the point where I would only have to look at them and they would stop. It reminded me cos this morning a male and a juvenile did the old banging chests whilst flapping upwards thing when they both wanted to attack the pile of sultanas - I knocked on the glass and the male (who'd obviously done this before) put his head down sheepishly and let the juvvie eat before getting some himself. Oh the joys of parenthood!
Debz, our blackbirds are EXACTLY the same! They come and stand by the patio door or peer at you over the edge of the guttering when the mealworm pot is empty! Ours love raisins too and also follow us around the garden, especially when they have kids to feed and don't want the hassle of all that digging for worms!
We also have a particular whistle for our lot. I love blackbirds. They're so cheeky and full of personality!
Oh aren't they just the best!? I have a resident male (Larry) who lives in my garden and a little female juvenile blackbird I named Pip. They come to me when I call them and I feed Pip from my hand now!!! I feel like Moses! lol! I can't believe it! A wild blackbird that I did not raise or save just trusts me like that. It did take a while to train her but it finally happened! I can't tell you how special it feels that she trust me like this. I feed them sultanas that I always keep in my pocket when I go at the backyard and they wait for me to water so the worms come up for them :) When they hear that I'm awake, they come to my backdoor and let me know they're ready for some food. I also have the same call for them every time so they know it's me.