What do blackbirds

Desiccated coconut. Mouldy food. Some moulds can cause respiratory infections. Stale food. This can provide a breeding ground for salmonella bacteria, which can cause food poisoning.

Attract birds to your garden Buy feeders, nest boxes and more from our online shop. Visit the shop now. Discover more about British birds. Trees woods and wildlife Birds Find out more about our declining woodland bird populations, and how protecting woodland habitats is more important than ever.

Blog When do birds nest? Blog What do owls eat? Blog Do robins migrate? Blog When do blue tits nest? Perhaps this is because, like the Robin, the Blackbird has been immortalised in the traditional English song, in this case the nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence. Of course, immortalised might be the wrong word here as the song speaks of four and twenty Blackbirds baked in a pie. Thankfully, by the next verse, they had started singing, so perhaps ovens were not so hot in the 18 th Century when this rhyme is believed to have emerged!

Blackbirds are a member of the thrush family. Like many of the birds you will see in your garden, they like woodland, in particularly deciduous trees with dense undergrowth.

However, they thrive in gardens too, especially gardens with regularly stocked ground feeders and bird tables. So much so, in fact, British gardens support a higher density of breeding pairs of Blackbirds than woodland.

The Blackbird is an omnivore which means it eats both insects and plants. They are particularly fond of earthworms and have become very adept at detecting them. They have great eyesight and can spot earthworm tails sticking out of the ground, and it is even believed they can hear worms under the soil.

Much of the rest of their diet is made up of insects including caterpillars, beetles, spiders, snails, slugs and other bugs. They feed on the ground, often shifting through leaves and other debris to find their prey. This is why they are keen on dense undergrowth — it is often home to a range of invertebrates that Blackbirds love to feed on. Blackbirds derive a lot of their protein from worms and insects so it will come as no surprise we recommend supplementing their diet with mealworms or calciworms.

Calciworms are the larvae of the black soldier fly and they contain a high level of calcium as well as protein.

Calcium is important for egg development and because it helps maintain a healthy skeletal structure. We recommend feeding Dried Mealworms or Dried Calciworms all year round due to a general decline in insect numbers.

Also, birds love them. If you want to attract more birds to your garden, feeding these is a great way to do it. Maps provided by Birds of North America Online. Maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

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Some products are species specific and not carried at all stores. No shells. No mess. Our No-Mess Blend is great near flower beds, patios and decks.