Mrs B

Mrs B is a beautiful female blackbird who comes to visit and I just have to blog about her. I first met Mrs B last year. She built a nest just outside my back door in the small area of the overflow pipes from the bathroom. I have an extremely ugly but incredibly functional and useful plastic roof covering an area of maybe 8 foot by 8 foot (IE probably not that at all-I'm terrible at numbers and spacial awareness!).

Mrs B's nest (Mrs Blackbird..get it!), was under this covered area so sheltered from the rain. Unfortunately, we have a West facing garden so it gets very, VERY hot. In the morning the sun rises at the front, but by late morning, the sun is racing up the garden towards the house at a cracking pace. I was consequently really worried that Mrs B's nest and contents would bake. I also was concerned about cleaning products reaching the nest so I didn't let anything go down the sink or bath that could be hazardous.

Regarding the heat, I did manage to reach out of a window to put a towel over the plastic roof over the nest site. Mrs B seemed anxious, presumably as the towel made the area darker too, so I had to remove the towel-pronto!



Mrs B was a lone parent throughout her motherhood. I supported her as best as I could by providing a generous supply of live meal worms (a difficult thing for a vegetarian to do)and water which I would put on top of the sandpit/digging box for the bunnies with its canvas roof. One night I noticed she hadn't returned to her nest and it was 11.00pm and dark. I knew this meant either that something awful had happened to Mrs B, or that she had deserted her nest. I couldn't see inside the nest so had to use a mirror and angle it, and it was then that I discovered that Mrs B's brood, in reality a sole chick, had died. Mrs B had deserted the nest as there was no reason to stay.

I saw Mrs B for the rest of the Summer of 2007.The meal worm deal continued too and it was so lovely to see that she was well and nothing awful had happened to her. One day, as Summer (what Summer we may ask!) breathed it's last breaths, Mrs B didn't come for her meal worms, nor later that day, nor again. I hoped she had found a life that didn't involve relying on me for food, I really hoped and prayed this is what had happened.

Spring 2008 arrived and as the warmer days occasionally and all too briefly appeared, so too did Mrs B. I knew it was her immediately. I was so thrilled, firstly that she was alive and well, and secondly that she had remembered me and knew to come to me when she was hungry. The meal worm order resumed and as Mrs b was soon joined by another female and a male blackbird, the order increased accordingly! I think the shop must have thought I was feeding the 5,000 not 3 blackbirds! Having said that, it was soon apparent that the meal worms were providing sustenance for more than the adult birds. These incredible parents, would arrive, grab a couple of meal worms themselves and then fill their beaks to beyond capacity and fly off to their nests before returning shortly to repeat the process. The water provided was clearly much appreciated as was the large water bowl we always have outside for the mammals in my life, which developed a dual role of water bowl and bird bath!! Needless to say, once bath time was completed, the bowl would be thoroughly washed and re-filled as no one wants to drink someone elses' bathwater do they!



Mrs B has continued to visit throughout the Summer. She sits on the roof of the sandpit/digging box and peers through the window for me if I don't immediately rush out armed with meal worms! She squawks if peering doesn't work and should the back door be open, Mrs B will come into the house to find me.

Whenever I am in the garden I have the company of Mrs B. If I am in a neighbours garden or down the alleyway, Mrs B will appear and make her presence known. She's actually very patient once she's found me and will happily sit on the fence or a wall for a while whilst I finish a conversation or gather sufficient veggies and herbs for the bunnies!





Unfortunately Mr B (who isn't Mrs B's Mr B if you see what I mean!) has got to be rather aggressive, as blackbirds do, and so when Mrs B visits to eat, I have to stand guard in order to prevent the foul tempered Mr B from frightening poor, gentle Mrs B and preventing her from getting near the meal worm feast. Mr b is actually extremely brave as well as bad tempered as when I 'stand guard', I have to keep in clear view of Mr B or he tries to intimidate me and will fly towards me, such is his determination not to allow a single meal worm to be lost to another. This is not a character assassination however, and Mr B is clearly a devoted father as it is very unusual for him to eat a single meal worm. Mr B lands, fills his beak furiously and departs. Perhaps it's a man/woman thing, the ladies hang around a while, have a coffee (sip of water) and a chocolate muffin (hey, I deserve a treat looking after so many children is tough work you know)and see if anything new is in stock, maybe some apple, a bit of chicken, to break up the meal worm monotony!!

Mrs B, Mr B and their fellow blackbirds have brought me such joy with their daily antics. Mrs b is such an incredible blackbird, I never imagined a bird could be so tame unless I had hand reared her which I obviously haven't. I have no idea where she nested, nor where her Mr B is as i have caught no sight of her with a male. She is always alone. Of course, there is always a price to pay for love and I live with the threat of Mrs B disappearing one day never to return. I honestly wish I could keep her totally safe, but her need for freedom as a wild creature is a daily battle for survival. I only hope I have brought something positive to Mrs B's life, if only that I am a reliable source of food for her and indeed all birds as the bird tables are always well stocked.

For now, I must just enjoy what we have; a wild bird who for some reason chose me out of all the billions of people in the world as someone to trust. I hope I never let her down.