Mayhem

The blackbirds are driving me crazy. They have begun a new family with a nest in a bush 5 metres from the verandah entrance where the thrushes have their nest. Unlike the quiet, secretive thrushes however, the blackbirds scold loudly at any perceived threat. They have laid claim to the whole garden and the house as well. Not only am I beset outside, but they fly round the house scolding me through the windows. The cat is terrified of them, which is not really a bad thing.

This morning I was innocently taking photos of poppies on the other side of the house from their nest. They were both there. He was above me on the old aerial screeching frantically and flapping his wings at me (top row). She sat on a post close by, flicking her tail and making angry noises, but not the full voiced scolding she is capable of because she didn't want to drop the stuff in her beak (bottom row). Both have raised the feathers on their heads as part of the attack.

So I turned the camera on them. Unfortunately I forgot to change the settings from those I was using for the poppies and they came out as black blobs. My clever son helped me to process the images to bring out what little detail there was.

I'm not thrilled by the prospect of this going on for weeks, but the male sings so sweetly it is worth putting up with them.