Two speckled babies

I am writing on 18th May and actually haven't seen the young blackbird for a few days.

I hope it's OK. I hear Mrs B making the contact calls - a high whistle, which it can be easy to mistake for the screaming swifts above.

I also hear a purring sound - which may be a growl - from the blue tits when they enter the nest box and then, sometimes, hear what may or may not be their chicks cheeping.

And I rather thought that I heard a wren practicing wren song... but surely it's too early for that.

As for the robin, whom I have seen today, a few times, this seems to be a very bright little person.

It's been confusing as once I thought I saw an adult chase this baby away. And then I think I saw the mother close by a few times. I have also seen the blue tits chase off both an adult and a baby robin. I remember the tits chasing Bobbit maybe in June or July last year... maybe later as by then he had the red breast.

Again, that stat comes to mind - how very few songbirds make it past their first birthday. I only saw two baby blackbirds once and after that, only one (at a time?) and I have only seen one baby robin.

The starling babies come in a group, as you'll see in a later post, but given how many adults visit, there don't seem many of them either. And still no sign of young crows.

Today, 18th May, as I said, I heard my first cuckoo - not here in town, but at the Reserve.