Blackbird building nest

[Clark]

Well every year we get a few birds nesting in the garden, usually blackbirds and sparrows but this year there only seemed to be sparrows, turned out the blackbirds were just starting late and last week they started buidling there nests. I thought this year i'd set myself the challenge of trying to film inside the nest and i think i've done it pretty well, i don't want to disturb them too much so i'm only filming them build the nests and won't film any eggs hatching etc..
Here's a link to my video of the blackbird building it up. Hope this link is allowed.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=arhnWAi2BAk

 

[Toddy]

Oh very well done
Clark that's brilliant, thank you for posting the link.

I've been watching a Dunnock family and her chicks nesting in the ivy & honeysuckle behind my pond this year, but have no photos like those

cheers,
Toddy

 

[hedgepig]

That's a great video Clark. Great to see the actually behaviour inside the nest. I've been watching wrens building a nest and I've been wondering what's actually going out of sight.

 

[g4ghb]

Verry good! - what's it filmed with mate? - I would think that they would get used to it pretty quickley if it is left there all the time and you could get some cracking shots of hatching and feeding

 

[JonnyP]

Nice one....

 

[Clark]

Thanks for the comments, i had also wondered how and what was going on inside the nest and had never seen a bird building the actual shape of it. Was great to watch.
It was filmed using a 7.2 samsung digital camera, nothing fancy just attached the camera a short distance from the nest and waited. The blackbird seems to be quite a confident bird and it knows my garden and myself anyway from always being around, if i'm out digging the ground then it'll often come in about for a worm or two that i throw it. The unfortunate news today is that one of the sparrows nesting have lost two of the eggs, i found them cracked and opened on the slabs below earlier. Nevermind though i suppose that's nature for you.

 

[spamel]

One of my girls just found a small blueish egg on the ground, possibly a blackbird egg as there are laods of them around in our garden. Not sure what to do with it as leaving it on the ground will be sure to get it destroyed by either a cat that runs about or the many corvids that circle about above the house on the way to the church. At present, it is in an easter egg nest above the central heating boiler to keep it warm. I doubt it will hatch, but you never know!

 

[Prophecy]

Great vid!

In work there is a blackbird nesting amongst the plants. (Retail...)

I've stuck a sign on the plant pot telling people not to disturb her, and I constantly try to move plants in front of her so people don't notice her and will leave her alone.

I god one of those feeding blocks the other day and just held it out to here and she was taking lots of berries and good stuff from it! Then I took pinches of it and she was eating right from my hand. But then she started to attack my wrist - flying off her nest and being aggressive! I was only trying to help her...

I was wondering if feeding her is the right thing to do? Presumably it's good she has some fat storage for sitting on her eggs for a period, but then when they hatch she needs to be able to actually fly!? Is feeding her a good idea?