We used to have a family of Blackbirds

[John G]

My wife Andrea looked out the kitchen window and there went the 2nd blackbird - the 1st went a few weeks before. She grabbed my camera and shot this - nice to see a sparrow hawk but shame about the Blacky.

[Renniwano]

Fantastic photos there, great photography..
RIP little blackbird - but what an awesome sight

[JackB]

There's a lot more blackbirds than there a Sparrow Hawks. Natures way of providing lunch for those higher in the food chain.
That said the only way I will shoot anything is with my camera.

Jack.

[John G]

Yeh!, survival of the fittest, just a shame as we've fed these blackbirds for years, that's maybe why they were caught - to much food on the bird table :biggrin: and too heavy to take off,

[Ian M]

Amazing photos John but, still sad isn't it.

We also had a family of Blackbirds & one of them used to come right up to my feet when I put the bread & seed out for the birds. Then one of our new neighbours cat decided to kill everything that moved including that very friendly Blackbird which I found dead in the garden one morning. We have just started to see a couple of Blackbirds in the trees at the bottom of the garden after a couple of months but, they haven't started to come back into the garden as yet. As for the cat well, it isn't too keen on getting a load of water thrown over it which is what I do when I see it sneaking into the garden. The last time I saw the cat it was being chased by a squirrel out of the garden. They will come back at some point John but, you have to give them a bit of time as they are usually so timid.

[mrs maggot]

Jack, we have so many hawks of all varieties around now, a friend just outside cranford, says their bird table is emptier than ever with the latest lot flying the skies, i wonder if around us the balance is not a little too much in their favour

[JackB]

Jack, we have so many hawks of all varieties around now, a friend just outside cranford, says their bird table is emptier than ever with the latest lot flying the skies, i wonder if around us the balance is not a little too much in their favour

They don't just eat blackbirds, they go for anything they can usually mice and other small mammals.
I took some photos of one near Cranford, and got some Redkites too.
Nature balances the wildlife population, so that there is the right amount for the food chain. Hopefully they will catch a few starlings as there seems to be a heck of a lot of them.

Jack.

[mrs maggot]

i know that the redkites are not supposed to eat fresh as it were, but they still scare the bejesus out of most of the birds around. i know nature balances - but with our own interferrence in nature with the mass breeding/reintroductin of the kites etc, its very unbalanced at the moment