Garden Springwatch

19th May - I noticed a female Blackbird furiously ripping my pond plants apart to find suitable nesting material. The foolish result was a nest built in the climbing Hydrangea anomala shrub, against my back fence, approximately 1metre high.

20th May - A Carrion Crow was perched above the nest, presumably checking it for eggs. After I scared it off I checked the nest, but there were no eggs.

23rd May - I checked the nest and there were 3 eggs which were not being incubated.

24th May - She was back on the nest in the morning.

29th May - 5 eggs in the nest.

From the above, it looks like one egg is laid per day (21st - 25th) and incubation doesn't start until all the eggs are laid. Presumably, this is to ensure that they all hatch together.

7th June - 2 baby Blackbirds in the nest, one of which conveniently posed for the photograph above.

Assuming the 25th was the start of incubation, then our eggs took 14 days to hatch.

To be continued ....