We have a mentally challenged Blackbird providing a constant cacophony whenever one of the cats sets foot outside the house. Apparently this has never been an issue with past Blackbirds and the bush that the Mad Blackbird (hereinafter known as MB) appears to be defending right outside the back door does not have a nest in it. In fact the nearest nests would appear to be outwit the garden. MB insists on doing his best to wake the neighbourhood at 0400 and has become deeply unpopular. I'm sleeping on the opposite side of the house and sleep deeply in any case.
Ah, the blackbird alarm...! I know exactly what it sounds like, and don't like the sound of it at all. I wonder whether it has truly ever stopped a cat from doing what it set out to do, or ever saved one single bird's life.
ReplyDeleteSome of the blackbirds around here are very good at mobile phone ringtones. I am not kidding you, they really have incorporated ringtones into their songs.
I can believe it, Meike. On Lewis the Starlings (who are good mimics anyway) mimic ringtones too.
DeleteMB may = crazy like a fox. These black beauties may know a wee bit more about the kitties than we know, right?
ReplyDeleteToday in Montana, we're listening to baby crow throughout the park. Even at 4 in the morning, I try not to be irritated by it. Even the robins are yakking first thing.
Great shot of the MB, GB!
I have no allusions about cats Lisa. But the nests of these Blackbirds are well out of reach and the household's two elderly cats show no interest whatsoever in wandering from the garden. In the past the families of Blackbirds have left the cats alone but this chap is a particularly noisy one and the neighbours are getting exasperated. I sleep through it all oblivious!
DeleteAren't you usually up at 4 a.m. anyway?! ;)
ReplyDelete4 a.m. is a bit early for me Monica. However I sleep through it obliviously.
DeleteSo at what hour were you up chasing the mad bird with your camera then? (Just teasing you...) I forgot to say it's an excellent photo. Here we have the gulls acting crazy now, the young ones still preferring walking around the neighbourhood rather than trying their wings - and their parents circling anxiously above!
DeleteWe have Blackbirds here as well, but they may be distant cousins (crow-like)....ours are jet black with feathers having a shiny glassy look, and so NOISY. They know the exact lunch time for my dog Brownie, and they all congregate to converge on his leftovers as soon as he gets one inch away. Kinda scary sometimes.
ReplyDeleteYour Blackbirds sound even more aggressive than MB during the nesting season.
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