In the Woodpile

Описание: The chick is 16 days old here and has moved to a sheltered part of the garden to hide from predators.
There were two chicks in this clutch.
Both spent the third night in different parts of the garden, and on the third day the darker one of the two went through a hedgehog hole into the wide blue yonder. The female is currently hiding in a wood pile .
The waited till almost 5 pm in the evening before leaving the nest when they fledged.
Betty's first hatching arrived about 10:11 on the 5/5/24. The second arrived later in the day.
At 1:43 pm on the 29/4/24 a cat found its way to the nest and eat two of the eggs. Betty returned to the nest and eat/ removed the remains of the eaten eggs and continued to sit on them.
During the day the Female, Betty, will spend most of the time on the nest. Mr Blackbird will pay the odd visit and perhaps bring her a snack.
A magpie has taken an interest (24/4/24) in the tree she is in and has been sitting on top of it , about 4 feet from the nest. We will have to see if it decides to investigate inside the tree.
She will spend all night on the nest.
Think the clutch is now all laid and she will start incubating. Expect hatching to start in 13/ 14 days - 6th or 7th May.
First egg laid around 12:20 pm on 20/4/24. May expected 1 a day more till there are 4 perhaps before she incubates full time.
Second egg laid at a similar time on the 21/4/24 - its always difficult to actually know the time its laid!
Third egg laid around noon on the 22/4/24 and the fourth at noon on the 23/4/24.
While laying eggs Blackbirds don't sit on the eggs full time, they only start doing this once they have laid all their eggs. This is so they all start developing together and hatch at the same time.
It seems that she will lay her eggs around lunch time and then disappear for the day, popping back occasionally to check on them throughout the day and first thing at dawn and then again every couple of hours till she is ready to lay.
Blackbirds nesting in a leylandii.