Blackbird Chicks

Today we found this nest close to where we were working in the garden.  The robust nest is made of twigs, grass, roots and moss, fortified with mud and roughly lined with grass and leaf skeletons. The female incubates for 13–14 days and both parents feed the chicks which fledge at 13–15 days. OK blackbirds are common as, but it's a rare sight and fascinating to be able to spy on bird life as young as this. 

Blackbirds feed mainly on the ground and eat insects, spiders and a wide variety of fruits from both native podocarps and shrubs and introduced shrubs and weeds. They can cause damage to orchards and spread weed seeds into native forests and crops, but they also help to disperse the seeds of fleshy–fruited understorey plants in native forests.

Learn more about blackbirds by visiting New Zealand Birds Online.