Sneak Shot of a Sneak Thief

One of several blackbird chicks that have been taught by their various parents to dislodge a plum from the tree, and to move it away to eat. My yard is littered with clean plum stones. They have started on the apple tree and the only one of my apricot trees that have borne fruit this season.

They pick and eat the fruit before it is ripe enough for my use. The fruit needs to be at a particular stage for it to ripen after it is picked. The spinning DVDs were a good deterrent for the first lot of plums, but the birds have wised up to them now. I shoo the birds away frequently during the day, but their persistence has got the better of me.

I took this shot through a window and through the branches of the plum tree, which explains the odd shadows and poor quality.