Small signs of hope #1 the optimistic blackbird

[KensingtonWoman]

It's been a grim old time but today I saw something that made me smile. Going out for a walk in the gap between RAINS I saw a blackbird. There weren't any other birds out: it was damp and grey. So just this one little guy in the tree and he's behaving oddly. Keeps craning his neck forward, tucking his tail down, singing a strange song. I got worried about him and thought he might have eaten something that disagreed with him but according to Google this is mating behaviour. There weren't even any females around! He was basically doing that thing that teenage boys do when they look in the mirror and slick their hair back and practise chatting up girls.

Bless him this little fella cheered me right up. He's got the right attitude hasn't he? Times may be rough but sit in your tree and think of how you're going to get it all right in better times.

Ah that’s lovely OP! I adore blackbirds! Sometimes in the Autumn, on my way to work, I’d see the same one in a tree, but quite low down, singing the tiniest little song all to himself. Then on my way home I’d see him right up the top of the same tree, absolutely belting it out.

He was rehearsing his song every morning 😍

The geese at our local park have had babies! They are utterly adorable.

Lovely !!!

Birds have really got me through this lockdown.

I have 2 regular visitors to my fat ball feeder a woodpecker and a pigeon. The pigeon has taken on the characteristics of the woodpecker when feeding together and tries to tap for food at the same speed. It is the highlight of my day.

He was rehearsing his song every morning 😍

Oh, that is so precious. And just one working day to go from tentative reachings to full throated song. What a wonderful chap.

I love blackbirds too. Cheeky wee rascals they are, you can befriend them (in return for food of course!)

I am loving the thought of a pigeon that wants to be a woodpecker! How funny!

And baby geese are gorgeous. But then ofc they quickly become adult geese who are also gorgeous but in addition are fucking violent and crazy. I love them and all that but really you don't fuck with the geese imo.

(Birds have also got me through lockdown. Big time.)

We can't wait for "our" blackbird to start his song. It means spring!!
We have named him Alexander. He got a lady very late last year.
I confess to winding him up by recording his song and playing it back to him.
The outrage got him a lady. So I don't feel too bad..

@GreenSlide agree that blackbirds can be cheeky. They get quite bold around humans really. But the cheekiest I have encountered are great tits. They nested in the eaves last spring (😍😍) and my goodness for such wee creatures they had attitude: they'd look at me through the window and be all puffed up, like daring me to do something about them. And when the fledgings jumped good lord I'd never heard such a racket. Both parents sat going nuts and diving at every bloody thing. Bless them, I guess if you have no teeth or claws and many natural predators you have to. But I did admire their attitude.

Ooh lucky you OP!! Great tits are the gangsters of the tits. They don’t take any prisoners! We’ve got one on our window feeder called Woody, because he sits right there and bashes the seeds up while the other birds shyly fly off after taking theirs. But he just headbangs it like a woodpecker. If you happen to be going about your human business on the other side of the window he shouts at you for disturbing his snack

Hahaha I can totally see that happening! Especially given our tits' attitudes to something as innocuous as opening the curtains in the morning (basically: you again? Fucking try me). My colleagues also got quite invested in TiNasty, as I like to call it, after I swung my laptop round one morning.

April last year was a long month tbf.