Startled

A day of marking. I set myself a schedule and I pretty much stuck to it. 2 sets of papers down - one to go tomorrow......the easiest :)

In my schedule was a good break at the mid-way point so I headed into the garden for some sunshine and fresh air. I was priveledged to be an observer of the comings and goings of Mrs blackbird - probably yesterday's bird - as she scurried around the garden foraging for bits and pieces to feed to her youngster. This observation included several low-and-close fly bys as she headed away to the neighbour's to see what their gardens had to offer.

Back indoors and back to the marking......

A short time later I caught a slight movement out of the corner of my eye and thought maybe someone had walked round the back of the house. Then just seconds later, another movement, this time accompanied by what sounded like a panicked chirping. I went to investigate. There, in my bathroom, was this blackbird......panting, obviously scared and trying to escape through the window (yes - there are a couple of ruffled feathers from the ordeal on it sback)

I carefully collected a soft towel and was able to corner and capture the bird gently in it, wrapping it so it couldn't escape until I had checked the area was cat-free. I don't know whether the bird flew through the open back door and into the bathroom or whether LB had caught it and brought it in, but he was hanging around outside (though to be fair, he didn't seem terribly interested). I shooed him away before releasing the bird then stood guard for a while until the bird had gathered itself together and was able to fly away to safety. For a while I thought it looked so shocked it was going to fall off the branch but it perked up after just a few minutes.

I'm not sure if this is Mrs Blackbird or one of her youngsters but either way, I'm happier tonight knowing that their family unit is still intact. Hope they sleep well tonight!