Friday 7 June 2013

Feeding blackbird chicks by proxy

This morning I made some Gingerbread scones.

I went in the garden for a bit and Mr Blackbird looked at me like he wanted me to give him some food. So I gave him some sultanas, but he put them in his beak rather than eating them. Then he flew to the nest and put them in the nest. (I can only see up into the nest, so I can't actually see the chicks he was feeding - it looks like he is putting them in the nest, but presumably he is putting them in chick's mouths).

The sultanas were quite dried out, so I didn't think they were very suitable for baby food really. So I put sultanas in a bowl of water and heated them up in the microwave to help them puff up. Then later in the day (several times) I fed these to the blackbirds.

I also tried feeding Mr Blackbird a worm, but he didn't want it. Mrs Blackbird isn't as tame as Mr, and she sometimes wouldn't eat the sultanas I threw for her. Mr Blackbird isn't tame enough to eat out of my hand yet, but he will come within a few metres to pick up food.

I also saw my first Sparrow chicks of this year yesterday. And some mating red damselflies today. No dragonflies yet though.

In the afternoon I tried taking some flower photos. Unfortunately it was quite windy, making it difficult.

In the evening I played on Civ IV.

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