Alarm call!

I heard a lot of squawking from the garden and went out to find a Blackbird in the low branches of a tree making a terrific noise, which I now am certain was an alarm call. Then I spied a wretched cat slithering over the fence out of the garden!

It's rare to see Blackbirds in the back garden, except when they sing in the highest branches of the trees. They mostly inhabit the front garden, where there is lots of ground food. We also feed them there. Now we do know that there is at least one nest in the front and probably more. So I think we can assume that this Blackbird saw the cat and gave chase. It does look a bit ruffled and agitated. I took a few pictures of it in the tree, but I liked this mid-squawk one that I just caught before it flew off. Amazing that a bird that can sing so tunefully and melodiously can also make this awful squawking noise. But then humans are the same I suppose!



I was going to address the issue of mess left after the Horse Fair, which a few people have mentioned. I could have posted pictures of the mess, as I did last year. I could quite easily have gone and taken a picture of the clearing up operation. However, it is a whole issue in itself and needs a more rational approach than just the tabloid way, which is to be quite happy one day to print pictures of all the horses and joyful activity, and another day throw up their hands in horror at the mess left behind. All I would say is: they never define who 'they' are who leave the mess; everything is very efficiently cleared up; I deeply resent people throwing rubbish out of vehicles; it's all over for another year and . . . I prefer the Blackbird.