Dead blackbird chick *TW pic*

[fedup0987]

I've had a bird nesting in my garden that I've noticed over the last few week. I've not been near really apart from a quick squint through the hedge .. mother was always in there so wasn't sure on how many eggs. I'd put some bits out for food for her and shooed any bigger birds (seagulls, crowd etc). We've don't the usual; not trimmed the hedge and not touched the nest. I've been for a little nosy today and she's left the nest.. with a dead chick in there. Just one? It says on Google they usually have 3-5?
I know nothing can be done now but what's the likely cause?

Bit sad really. Poor thing.

Could be bird flu. We’ve had that going round.

And is it usual for just one chick?

There may have been more at some point. A bird isn’t going to leave dead chicks in a nest so long as one or more are still alive. Bird flu is still circulating amongst wild birds.

Life for chicks is so fragile and it doesn't take much to finish them off sadly. It may not even have hatched, we have had chicks (chickens) fully formed who start pipping but never make it out of the shell. The mother would clean up the shell. This could be due to humidity, abnormalities etc.. they do usually sit on a clutch but perhaps the other eggs didn't develop and mum kicked them out of the nest. Very sad 😞

It doesn't look like she's kicked it out but more just left it. All seems odd but yes, sad.

I don’t think it’s odd. Sad, but not odd. It’s obvious she had a few chicks and they got sick and as they died, she removed the dead ones and when the last one died, she left. Blackbirds can have more than one clutch of chicks a year, it’s early enough for her to make a new nest and lay more eggs. Wildlife isn’t stupid, they’re not going to lay eggs in a nest where the last clutch of chicks all got sick and died. And they leave the last dead chick there so that other lazier blackbirds don’t move in and then lay eggs in a contaminated by illness nest.

Ah that makes sense why it's left. Thanks.

So will the chick that's left not be taken by some other wildlife and then the diseased nest becomes used? I'm just curious.