A bad case of thrush ?

Very cool photo....

Thanks Skippy - so territorial at the moment they hardly notice us ..

Lovely shot there Bonkers,

Great photo!

Brill photo as always.

Wow, look how you've caught his wings in flight, amazing. Your photos never cease to amaze me :-)

Fantastic pic Bonkers.

Oh Wow BB .. Amazing shot :o)

Thank you - having a rare bit of sun helped , we seem to have been under a bank of mist since before Easter .Forecast for next week so much better just as children ( and Jane ) back to school !

All I can say, BB, is Ouch! Great photo.

Typical british weather BB - We've had sun but that East Wind has been raw. How's Jane's robin?

Thanks Gee - all our birds a bit freaky at present aren t they .

Oh well the blackbirds have twigged ( excuse that ) what Jane is up to and lie in wait to pounce , so would you believe he chirps outside the window for her as if to say protect me from this lot and then joins her on the bench to feed ! No chance of putting mealworms out as blackbirds collect them all - so his only chance is to sit with Jane .

The black birds always seem to know where the food is, dont they. Your robin is very clever and so nice for Jane to have him join her on the bench. I've started to feed another robin on a wall opposite the kitchen window, I hid the worms under an overhanging plant, he knew where they were and it was if the blackbird was watching him and moved in. It's great though that we can feed the tame robin without any other bird approaching.

Jane throws sultanas down for the blackbirds in order to distract them and has a secret weapon ..fruit scones past their sell by date .the combination of fruit and pastry irresistible , the shy mistle thrush is so tempted .

She managed to get some lovely shots of him on the pond by her feet as she fed the robin.

Good tactics .... Can we look forward to seeing pics of the Mistle Thursh soon ?

With credit to Jane Dawn I put them in blogs to prevent our pics pages being covered in birds and nothing but ..you know how much pleasure we get from them but do need to balance with a few plants occassionally lol

Will draft one with her pics soon.Shes getting a bit too clever with that camera !

Great stuff. Funny thing is Ray, I know we love the birds but people could think we are not interested in the garden but I know that you and I are always in the garden, probably more than most and we love our plants etc., but we love the wildlife a bit more, lol.

Please keep the wildlife photographs coming Bonkers and Dawn. It's all part of gardening. As for your problem blackbird (little thief), I purchased a small live food feeder from C J Wildbird Foods which I managed to put on a pole by using a plumbing connection. The feeder was expensive for what it is, but I,ve had it for over two years now and only the smaller birds can gain access. I also addapted the bottom of a lemonade bottle to fit in the centre of the tray to help save some of the meal-worms from falling victim of those thugs the starlings who hang on the side of the tray and stick their heads in and get any mealworms within reach.
Great to hear that you have a Mistle Thrush.

Great shot

That sounds like a great idea Toto given that these other birds eat almost everything I do find mealworms pricey for starlings esp..our fridge is often empty but the pantry so well stocked with various bird food.

We feed in a shift system rooks and starlings get left overs , blackbirds fruit then hide mealworms in stumps pots and hollows in trees , your system sounds clever though so cut off the base of the bottle and make a small hole ?

Thanks Deida .

Exactly. You need to make it removable so that you can keep it clean.

I've just taken a couple of pics to show what I did and posted on a blog for you. Hope it helps.

Thanks Toto will check it out as anything that saves mealworms got to be good - sorry fellas happy to feed you but the credit crunch means the gourmet stuff reserved for the little chaps .

:-)))) Thanks for your encouragement Toto and thanks for the info on the mealworm feeder. excellent and I've just seen your photos on the blog. I'll speak to my John about making the adaptions you've suggested. I've been hiding mealworms today too for the little guys ... I'm sure the blackbirds have a radar system. Lol.

The award for GoY's best action shot goes to BB!

Thanks Tg - so busy squabbling over territory and food they dont see us wandering round the garden.

fantastic shot bonkersbon,, i so love to see the birds in my garden, not had a thrush as yet, but have blackbirds, robins, bluetits and other finch`s, baz says all they need is a menu at the bottom of the garden because i spoil them so much lol

LOL....ours are spoiled too...lots of food to go round,but doesnt stop the blackbirds squabbling though !

i just have trouble with wood pigeons,, they sit in ground feeder and dont move till they have eaten almost everything,, they are so bad

Oh they are so big and clumsy looking,but quite easy going ( and greedy ).Ors eat the cheaper seed mix,with wheat in,and tend to feed most just before dusk,when the other birds have gone !

Fab. action pic :o)

Thanks TT : )

Great photo. Love the way the thrush looks up at the blackbird.

Wow! How long were you standing there to get such a photo?

fantastic picture Bonkers

Thank you - as they spend so much time squabbling and defending territory they dont notice so quite easy to point and click . They have young to feed also , so tend to be a little braver if food available.

wow excellent shot BB

Thanks Eileen .

Well aught well done

Well caught Bb I love getting shots like these.

Thanks Bob...didnt really realise had captured it as was just clicking away !

That is just so brilliant, love it!

What an amazing picture!

Thanks both....