Blackbrids in the garden

Catching up with some summer photos that I didn't manage a blog post for at the time.   I was lucky enough to share my urban garden with a small blackbird family (more about the garden itself later in the week.)

By the time I took these pictures there was just one chick remaining, although I thought I had seen a couple more.  The camera was positioned in the kitchen looking out through the backdoor and I was crouched down to shield myself from view using the sink unit.

The male adult was keeping a close eye on things whilst the female was foraging for food.

He had a bit of a bedraggled look about him, after a long summer of bringing up chicks perhaps.

The young bird was calling and the male hopped around him without ever getting too close.  I'd hoped to capture mum arriving back with the food, but I might have known she would trick me.  Having spent the whole summer hanging around in the garden and neighbouring area, I'd got to know this family quite well.  Nearly every morning the mother bird would wake me when she sat on the garden fence calling and singing.  It was no surprise then that she headed to her favourite morning perch on the fence and the young bird dashed out to her, completely depriving me of the shot!

Photo data: 10-Jul-2013, Digital SLR, backyard, Wiltshire