Bird alarm calls
I now know what a robin alarm call sounds like...
Two robins in the mulberry tree making an awful lot of one short repeated note.
Wondered what it was, then looked by the point in the ivy where we think their nest is.
CAT
Went and chased off the cat. Alarm calls instantly ceased.
I do hope the babies are okay. The cat wouldn't be sniffing around there if the eggs hadn't hatched.
(We can hear the baby blackbirds in the hedge where the roses are, but that's harder for a cat to get to)
Richard's loaded the supersoaker by the back door.
I've been watching around ten minutes now (and chased the cat off once more). The parents are clearly nervous about approaching the nest again. They keep flying to the ivy and then backing off again. I can see one now, with a beak full of food, but he's waiting in the mulberry.
I think I'll go and wash the dishes. That will put me in a position where I can watch the garden for half an hour and hear any alarm calls, while still getting some useful work done.
PS. If you have a cat, and can face keeping it indoors for a month, this really is the time of year when baby birds are at their most vulnerable. I'll bet whoever owns this tabby has no idea that it's out hunting baby robins.
Two robins in the mulberry tree making an awful lot of one short repeated note.
Wondered what it was, then looked by the point in the ivy where we think their nest is.
CAT
Went and chased off the cat. Alarm calls instantly ceased.
I do hope the babies are okay. The cat wouldn't be sniffing around there if the eggs hadn't hatched.
(We can hear the baby blackbirds in the hedge where the roses are, but that's harder for a cat to get to)
Richard's loaded the supersoaker by the back door.
I've been watching around ten minutes now (and chased the cat off once more). The parents are clearly nervous about approaching the nest again. They keep flying to the ivy and then backing off again. I can see one now, with a beak full of food, but he's waiting in the mulberry.
I think I'll go and wash the dishes. That will put me in a position where I can watch the garden for half an hour and hear any alarm calls, while still getting some useful work done.
PS. If you have a cat, and can face keeping it indoors for a month, this really is the time of year when baby birds are at their most vulnerable. I'll bet whoever owns this tabby has no idea that it's out hunting baby robins.