Learning by mistakes

We have an amelanchia tree in the garden that is covered in small berries.  Over the last few days a male blackbird has been bringing down his offspring and teaching them how to grab the berries off the tree.

This morning one of the youngsters tried to have a go on his own, with unfortunate consequences; he lost his footing and plummeted to the ground like a stone.  After pulling himself together he flew up onto the top of the pergola where he rested for a while and cleaned his underwing area before flying off.  While clearly a bit shaken, he didn't seem to have suffered any lasting damage apart from to his pride.

We also spotted a Hummingbird Hawk Moth flitting around some of the flowers so I've added a shot of that as an extra.  All shots were taken through the window to avoid scaring off the subjects but I don't think they've come out too badly.