New additions to our family...

[SasAndYunah]

Just had to share this cute news :)
Since 2 days, mister and misses blackbird, who had built their nest in my backyard, are the proud parents of 5 babies :D

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/album.php?albumid=61&pictureid=1715

Since 5 babies is a lot, I started helping them to feed their babies....namely, I bought mealwurms :eek:

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/album.php?albumid=61&pictureid=1716

Twice a day, I put some apple, red berries and mealwurms down for them in my backyard...

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/album.php?albumid=61&pictureid=1717

And within seconds, the parents appear, one at the time, to collect the mealwurms for their babies and they themselves will eat the fruit and the berries :)

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/album.php?albumid=61&pictureid=1718

Hopefully this will make it a bit easier on the parents :)

Saskia and Yunah :)

[lulusmom]

Wow, Saskia, that's awesome. What a wonderful person you are to help take care of a record breaking number of hatchlings in one nest. I'm not sure I've ever seen that many at one time. :eek: Nothing completes a story like pictures so thanks for posting them....I loved them.

[mytil]

How wonderful!!! Now, where on earth did you get mealworms?

The photos are wonderful and I cannot wait to see more, especially as they are just learning to fly.

T.

[labblab]

Saskia, thank you SO MUCH for posting this!!!! :) :D :) :D

And yes please, ongoing updates whenever you are able! ;)

Marianne

[SasAndYunah]

Well, some sad news, this morning there were only 4 babies left in the nest :( So one has "disappeared... I checked the bushes to see if it had fallen out of the nest and if I could find it, but no...unfortunaly, no baby to be found :(

But on the bright side, the remaining 4 are doing very well, growing like crazy and they are constantly screaming for food :D

Just watch and listen ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6rDHmoag6Y


Mom and dad are gratefully taking advantage of the extra mealwurms I am feeding them...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laaleQRJOlc


Am looking forward to the time there will be (hopefully) 4 big round blackbird babies in my backyard, learning how to fly ;)

Saskia and Yunah :)

p.s. the mealwurms came from a shop, will have to go and buy some more tomorrow :)

[labblab]

Oh Saskia, that is so sad about the one little baby. :(

But perhaps it was somehow the weakest one, and just not destined to survive :o.

The other four seem to be VERY strong and vocal, though!! And the beginnings of wingfeathers, it looks like. So hopefully they will soon be advanced enough to go fluttering off, to begin new lives of their own. :) :) :) :)

Marianne

[SasAndYunah]

So, we're 5 days later and there are only 3 babies left :( The weather has become very cold, especially at night and I just found 1 of the babies, dead in the nest, one morning. Eventhough mother blackbirds sits on the nest as much as possible to keep the babies warm. I took the dead bird out of the nest and the remaining 3 are doing great :) They have grown their feathers and that should make them less vulnerable to the cold.

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/album.php?albumid=61&pictureid=1726

I think sometime later this week, they will leave the nest. I hope they will survive that first period out of the nest since they are very vulnerable at that time. I'm sure Yunah will protect them as best as she can, she already chases the Jackdaw's away :)

Saskia and Yunah :)