horns of wilmington's cow

By anth

The daftest way to fledge

Blackbirds have this utterly daft way to fledge, where the young will drop out of the nest, and spend anything from a few hours to a few days scurrying about in the undergrowth unable to fly. 

I mean... why?

This youngster. from our resident pair's third brood, has dropped into the little fenced off strawberry patch under the tree. Now it seems to be trying to get out, but at the same time it's probably a really good place for it to be. The cat doesn't go in there, and neither do the foxes. There's plenty foliage to hide under (and if threatened they'll just stay stock still, which certainly protects them from cats, who need movement to hunt - though get close enough and they'll try to bolt, in a fluttery non-flying mess). 

Best thing to do if you find a fledgling like this is... just leave it alone. The parents know what to do (this is their natural way of doing things of course) and you don't want to stress the fledgling unnecessarily. Still seems an odd way to go about it all, and I'll be worrying about the wee mite tonight (Isla is locked in now).

The life and death nature of it puts into perspective a busy (but good busy) day in the office, that extended a bit beyond normal hours (as well as a colleague having recently had emergency surgery - though home now thankfully - having learned some more it also puts my sore arm into perspective (for the record, more movement, less pain).

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