Alas Poor Blackbird

I found him on the side of the road with no obvious injuries. He was probably clipped by one of those tall lorries early this morning when the cold had slowed him down a bit. He has been resident in my garden for a long time. You could say we had a love/hate relationship. He hated me. I loved his song and hated his behaviour. He has been the most destructive of birds.

I buried him under the big Coprosma that produces masses of fruit that would normally feed the bellbird and waxeyes all winter, but doesn’t because, as usual, he’d ripped off the young berries before they were edible.