Just as a quick starter thought I mention what I did for the Wildlife Trusts #30dayswild which is going on through June. I was wondering what to do for it this morning as I was looking out the window, that was all it took as just on my neighbours drive were a couple of female blackbirds having a bit of a scuffle. Well that took care of that as I had my phone with me to take a quick couple of photo's. Not sure why they were fighting though!
Well, as you may know, I have recently been to Northumberland. It's great and gorgeous place even without the wildlife and nature but adding those things on makes it one of the best places to go, for me anyway. One of the places I went was Cragside. we . But on the way back to the car, something caught our eye. It was a Song Thrush.I thought I'd be able to do this bird a lot sooner as I do get them in the garden but when I see them, I haven't been quick enough to get the camera. This one, though, I got some good-ish pictures of.
So, here are the facts:
- They are resident all over the UK apart from the Shetlands. They only breed, though, in North, Central Scotland.
- They are found in all habitats but for the best chance of seeing them go to a Deciduous Woodlands. They are least found in bogs and coastal areas.
- There are around 1,144,000 breeding territories for Song Thrushes around the whole of the UK.
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| Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) bounding across the grass |
- Even though there are this many places that they breed, they are a RED STATUS bird. This is because there has been a population decline. A century ago they were they were considered to be more common than blackbirds
- They might seem quite large birds but they only have a length of 23cm and a wingspan of a modest 34cm!
- Their weight is even more surprising at just 83g. The eggs weigh 7% of this at just 6 grams. How does a bird come out of that?!
- The average brood of Song Thrushes contains 4 eggs. They have between 2 and 3 broods a year, sometimes they even have 4!
- They start breeding at 1 year old and their typical lifespan is 3 years. The oldest blew this away and lived for 10 years, 8 moths and 29 days.
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| Back on the ground |
- Their call is a particular repetition of calls. Each Song Thrush has a repertoire of about 100 songs!
- They eat invertebrates, worms, fruit and, when it a drought, snails!
- The second part of their latin name Philomelus coem from a Greek myth about Philmela who was turned into a Nightingale
Here are some links to some more information:
Hope you enjoyed,
Z.
Lovely birds - a bit elusive in my area, so always a pleasure to see them out and about. I love their speckled plumage! - Tasha
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