I live in the city centre of Newcastle and every year for the past 5 years between approx May and August a brown blackbird perches on a telephone pole and calls a shrill very loud call for about 20 minutes. It used to be around 7pm each evening, but is now sometimes midday and even 2.00am at night.
The bird has also been nesting in the basement car park of the buidling.
My question is,
I'm assuming this is the mother bird so why is she calling? Is it defending territory, or calling fledglings to feed them?
I had wondered if it was a brown fledgling calling for its mother for food?
Is there anything I can do to discourage it or encourage it to move elsewhere as call is painfully shrill?
Thanks
This sounds like it could possibly be an alarm call, nothing you can really do as they are a very vocal species of bird during their breeding season, especially when they sense danger.
They can deliver a shrill call but i think most people would put up with the odd shrill if it means we get to hear the fantastic song, with garden birds you have to take the rough with the smooth sometimes!
Hi Gus and welcome to RSPB Community.
Blackbirds have 3 grades of warning call that I can determine.
There's general anxiety - a kind of muted "chook chook chook" which they sit in a bush and do if something they're not happy about is nearby
There's "Danger" - a shriller "pink pink pink" which they do when mobbing something
And there's "Emergency - take cover!" A much accelerated "pinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpink" which nomally culminates in the bird departing in a big hurry.
All very different to their flutey song, and all in reaction to a perceived threat.
JBNTS
Hi Gus
I know exactly what you mean.
When my cat was alive my local blackbird used to make so much noise, when I let him out in the mornings and he walked along the top of the fence, that I used to not let him out before 7.30am because I knew that the blackbird would wake up the neighbours :-)
Sadly, I don't think there is anything that you will be able to do to get it to call elsewhere.