We have had blackbirds nesting a mahonia bush for the last couple of weeks, and the chicks hatched about a week ago. Both parents were doing a good job of collecting food and keeping them well fed. However, we have come home today to find all 3 chicks dead on the lawn just near the bush. They are too far away to have just fallen out of the nest. What has happened? I am sure it is not a cat as the nest was really well hidden. We have seen a magpie hanging around but wouldn't it have eaten the chicks? They were all very plump and unmarked except for what looked like a tiny hole (pecked?) on each one which makes me wonder if the nest had been raided, but why just throw them out of the nest? We are so disappointed, were really looking forward to seeing them fledge.
It could well be Magpies,they are the blackbirds worst enemy from my experience. Perhaps they got frightened away. A magpie raided a nest in our garden once and hung the poor little chicks in a conifer for later. The mother bird kept looking at the nest, it is so upsetting I agree but our Blackbird came back the following year and was successful
Of all creatures, man is the most detestable, he is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. ~ Mark Twain
Many years ago a magpie raided our blackbird's nest. We scared it away several times, but couldn't guard the nest all day - and when we arrived home several hours later we found three headless chicks in the nest - and two distraught parents still calling nearby.
Hi Morky
Sorry to hear about your blackbird chicks, you must be devastated.
Did you see a program a couple of years ago with Bill Oddie in it. It was about his garden, among other things, and he had had trouble in the past with nests being raided and he had a robins nest in the ivy so he put an empty hanging basket up around the nest to protect it. I thought it was a good idea. You would obviously have to be very careful when doing anything like that but perhaps some kind of wire mesh with holes large enough for the blackbirds but not magpies. I know it is not practical sometimes when they nest in awkward places but perhaps worth a thought.
Chez
You have no control over what life & people throw at you - but you have full control over how you deal with it!
Hello Morky,
Sorry to hear about this nest faliure. It's very difficult to ascertain the "culprit" without a witness, so to speak. One would certainly assume that natural predators would have (at least partially) eaten the young, as it's not worth an individual expending however small an amount of energy acquiring prey only to leave it, unless, of course the predator was disturbed before it could consume the chicks.
Cats, unfortunately are a different matter. While they obviously still posess the instinct to hunt, they don't (unless they're feral) depend on the prey for survival. They aren't, therefore, part of a naturally functioning ecosystem, and their population isn't controlled by the food availability. Although I personally find cats enchanting creatures, and would never harm one, I do accept their impact upon small animal populations.
A third, and maybe most likely, possibility is that the chicks have died from disease or parasite infestation, and have been removed from the nest by the adults: which might explain the "peck" marks you saw. Or indeed, depending on their shape, these may be the exit holes of the adult insects, which, in their larval stage, caused the chick's death.
It's important to remember that even if you'd returned home to find a Cat or Magpie, for example, on the lawn in the act of eating the chicks, it doesn't necessarily mean that they were the cause of death. They might just have been carrionising the carcasses.
All this, of course, isn't going to identify the cause of death, or bring these chicks back. You can, however, rest a little easier in the knowledge that Blackbirds are multi-brooded, and will almost certainly produce another clutch; if not three more! Hence the adults cleaning the nest. From all these potential young, and the two adults, only two need survive to breed next year for the population to remain stable. As a result, the surplus are destined to die, from one cause or another, before attaining breeding age. Little consolation, I know, but an unchangeable truth nevertheless.
I hope this is of some help to you,
MC:-)
Excellent well written reply here Micky, thanks.
Hi Micky thought your answer so good that suggested it as answer which it accepted but today I see it has disapeared,how weird is that but not one to give up I am having another go best wishes.
Well now it seems to have gone on Krystle,sorry Micky made a right mess of it somewhere along the way.
Thank you for your replies and suggestions, and a very informative response from mickycoop. I hadn't even thought about the possibility of infection or disease. I have managed to get a decent look at the nest today and it does seem as though there is quite a bit of disturbance in the shrub around the nest site which I am sure was not there before - quite a few broken stems and branches - which does make me wonder still about the magpie or cat. I am hoping it does not put off the parents from using the nest again maybe in the not too distant future. I have not seen either of the parents around the garden today but am pleased to hear some of their song later tonight. Fingers crossed we will see them again soon. Thanks again all.
Hi Morky,
I've just got back from the boozer, so I beg forgiveness for any "alcohol fuelled" typos or other errors in this.........................................................Oh yeah, there I was!.................... Post. .....................I just thought I'd have a "mooch around" before bedtime. This must be the cyberspace equivalent to putting the chip pan on!
I think the bottom line is: Don't take anything on face value. For instance: The thickness of the "broken stems and branches" you mention might even suggest (although I hope not) Human interference, as birds are really very light, and are (apart from obvious, large exeptions) incapable of breaking "branches". Cats might do so in the process of climbing, but not, I think, deliberately as a means of access to the nest.
As for this pair returning for a new breeding attempt in your garden, only time will tell. But good territories are hard to come by for common birds, so it makes little sense to abandon one, regardless of the presence of predators, in one guise or another http://www.jstor.org/pss/3566065. it's also important to remember that as much as we humans attempt to impose our rules upon it, "Nature", in all it's glorious amorality doesn't give a toss, and, generally speaking, individuals don't matter one jot! It's populations that make the difference! Predators harm individuals, not populations. No evidence exists to support claims that Magpies, or any other native predators have negative, long term effects on "songbird" populations.
There are, of course, certain organisations which attempt to implicate native predators in the unfortunate declines in some species' populations. They are nothing less than charlatans, with badly hidden agendas, and vested interests in the destruction of said species. Although very much in the minority, these people make a lot of (albeit senseless) noise, and are supported by the self titled "quality" press. I urge you, and all the members of this community, not to fall for their lies, and to look to the RSPB and BTO for reliable, trustworthy data on this most complex of issues.
Many thanks for your kind comments,
Right, time for bed!
Well said MC
Hope ye switched off the chip pan before goin to bed mate lol
Cheers
AL
If its no fun Yer no doin it right!
Yes Micky always informative and often with a bit of humour,enjoyed that and sure you are right about Magpies not affecting populations but if they slaughter a brood in your garden emotiens probably mean you dislike them.Maybe I have been on the booze one word there looks spelt wrong.