Gardening with birds.
Every autumn, hubby goes and collects leaves from an area not far from home (don't worry, there's still plenty of leaves left for the wildlife, it's a big area) and makes a pile in the back border of our garden. This rots down over winter and becomes a lovely pile of leaf mould (aka compost), for use in the garden in the following autumn as a mulch on the borders.
After the leaves have settled and winter comes along, we occasionally see male and female blackbirds digging (and yes, it's definitely digging!) with their beaks to get the creepy crawlies that have crawled in there for shelter. This activity increases in spring, which is fine, as they're kindly turning the pile over for hubby, lol! And believe me, they dig with Much Enthusiasm, able to shift more than you'd expect in a short period of time, leaving holes in the pile that can easily be seen even from the house!
Anyway, this year, a female blackbird has decided that the half-composted leaves are Just The Thing to build her nest with. She has been spotted leaving with beakfuls of leaves. Hubby isn't too worried, I mean, how many leaves can she take? Well, guess we'll see! :D
The main two questions remaining now are:
1) Will she start using the water pot to wet things in, thereby making a muddy mess that I have to clean out several times a day until she's done?
2) Will she start taking moss from the lawn, as happened once, some years back, leaving behind muddy holes and a grumbling hubby?
Time will tell!! But hey, it's worth it when the youngsters appear! :D
EDIT: Oh, and when the leaf mould goes onto the borders, the blackbirds delight in throwing it about All Over The (Nearby) Lawn. Pesky birds, lol! :D
This entry was originally posted at https://leesa-perrie.dreamwidth.org/763863.html.
After the leaves have settled and winter comes along, we occasionally see male and female blackbirds digging (and yes, it's definitely digging!) with their beaks to get the creepy crawlies that have crawled in there for shelter. This activity increases in spring, which is fine, as they're kindly turning the pile over for hubby, lol! And believe me, they dig with Much Enthusiasm, able to shift more than you'd expect in a short period of time, leaving holes in the pile that can easily be seen even from the house!
Anyway, this year, a female blackbird has decided that the half-composted leaves are Just The Thing to build her nest with. She has been spotted leaving with beakfuls of leaves. Hubby isn't too worried, I mean, how many leaves can she take? Well, guess we'll see! :D
The main two questions remaining now are:
1) Will she start using the water pot to wet things in, thereby making a muddy mess that I have to clean out several times a day until she's done?
2) Will she start taking moss from the lawn, as happened once, some years back, leaving behind muddy holes and a grumbling hubby?
Time will tell!! But hey, it's worth it when the youngsters appear! :D
EDIT: Oh, and when the leaf mould goes onto the borders, the blackbirds delight in throwing it about All Over The (Nearby) Lawn. Pesky birds, lol! :D
This entry was originally posted at https://leesa-perrie.dreamwidth.org/763863.html.