I discovered a Blackbird's nest close to my house in an ornamental shrub, 5 feet above the ground and in the back of the shrub, close to a wooden fence. It is about 5 feet from a pair of patio doors. Blackbird nests are constructed from grass, root fibres and moss and loosely formed in to an open, circular deep bowl, They are unlined, apart from softer dry grasses and more dry moss. The closely related Song Thrush - Turdus philomena builds a very similar nest but then lines the bowl with mud that dries to form a solid cup.

Chicks were discovered in the nest, early on the morning of April 9th. It is usual for all eggs to hatch together. The chicks were pinkish with a tinge of yellow, covered in wispy, slightly damp greyish down. When they hatch they are totally blind and helpless, this is described as altricial. They have under developed feet and beaks. Later in the morning the wispy down had dried and was then fluffy. A sample weight of one chick was 7.4 grams. Before they fledge in two weeks, they will have increased their weight at least 10 fold. 35grams at 8 days is considered light and the average would be around 40 which suggests that body weight should increase by 5 times in eight days.

The female is now brooding her three chicks and sitting very tightly, allowing just a quick cursory inspection. Even though she does not appear to care too much about this momentary intrusion, the male however, is resentful and from a distance sends out an alarm call to warn of my presence. That is the time to leave. In the early evening I noticed the female leave the nest and then the male arrived almost immediately with a beak full of small worms. He perched on the nearby fence before going in to the shrub. From inside the house and through the patio doors, I could see the male standing on the rim of the nest and feeding the chicks.