The rain arrived mid-afternoon. Hopefully it will encourage the bugs, slugs and snails that our birds love. Not, obviously, to the point that they decimate the fruit bushes, but enough to have a good supply of soft protein for the nestlings…and the insistent fledglings.
A few of the adults seem to be trying to wean their offspring off their deliveroo towards a more self-service menu. A young sparrow was trying out the balance on the wire fat ball feeder. There were a couple of fat balls in the feeder, so the fledgling could stand on the top of the ball and stretch down to the food. It was getting its beak wedged into the fat, but then not too sure what to do next. An adult male sparrow arrived and hung upside down to attack the bottom of the lower fat ball. The fledgling immediately went into a frenzy of wing fluttering and squeeking, trying to get the adult to feed it, but to no avail. The male sparrow took what it wanted and flew off. The youngster stared about itself for a moment and then flew off after the grown-up.
The thrush seems content to feed her duo for the moment. The youngsters are largely silent, either parked somewhere safe, or following at her heels. She is finding plenty of snails and hopefully they are picking up her technique for getting them out of the shells. Today, she happily explored underneath the garden chair of a neighbour, come for a socially distanced coffee, who was open-mouthed at the graceful creature’s boldness.
thekitchensinkbirdwatcher 