Hi, we have blackbirds nesting in our ivy very close to the house and the birds havent been bothered by our two small dogs. however, on coming home today, all the babies were on the ground and one of our dogs became hysterical, barking at them and chased one, trying to catch it. also there were magpies everywhere and we have heard that they will take baby birds. we have shut our cat inside and will put the dogs on the leads, but do we need to worry about the magpies, we have had such a lot of pleasure watching this family develop and now it seems there are so many hazards. we also have robins nesting in a low tree and are wondering when the babies will be about as they seem to have been there a long time, any advice would be welcome, thanks
The best thing that you can do is to keep a close eye on things, make sure your pets are under close control and that the nests and fledglings are left alone. Robins and blackbirds feed their young in the nest for about two weeks and then they will spend a few days to a couple of weeks learning the ropes on the ground, usually tucked away in low vegetation.
The fledglings are vulnerable to attack from above but the parent bird will do all they can to protect them. All that you can control really is your domestic animals. Fingers crossed they will do just fine!
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
Hi Ian,thank you for your reply,unfortunatly, having done all we can with regard to our pets, we have had to chase off a local cat several times, we do not get cats normally as our dogs keep them away, but as they are now under curfew, cats are coming in. Our own cat is shut in all the time now and we are staying away from the borders, as there is just one baby left, parents are calling all the time with food but only one baby can be seen, hiding in a corner. There was a terrible racket going on at 5am yesterday and we think this was when disaster struck. We are new to this as you can probably gather,never having had birds breeding so close to the house, so it has been a real interest and eye opener, but also upsetting, after so much care and devotion taken by the parents, to end up on the ground, vulnerable and at risk, but I guess thats nature and all we can do is as you say, keep our own pets under control, thanks again.
Ian H said: The best thing that you can do is to keep a close eye on things, make sure your pets are under close control and that the nests and fledglings are left alone. Robins and blackbirds feed their young in the nest for about two weeks and then they will spend a few days to a couple of weeks learning the ropes on the ground, usually tucked away in low vegetation. The fledglings are vulnerable to attack from above but the parent bird will do all they can to protect them. All that you can control really is your domestic animals. Fingers crossed they will do just fine!