Is anyone else inundated with Blackbirds hunting for worms on there lawn? My back garden is constantly like a scene from the Alfred Hitchcock film 'The Birds' at the moment with as many as 12 birds pecking away at one time and my boys are obsessed with them! Its unbelievable how oblivious the birds are to Harvey and Alfie - they don't bat an eyelid when the dogs are barking frantically at them through the french doors in the kitchen. I don't want to continuously let the dogs 'see the birds off' as I'm afraid it will turn into an annoying game so the only thing I can do is close the blinds which leaves the room dark and dismal. I cant move the dogs into another room because the same thing is going on at the front of the house too.........I've never seen so many birds, its scary!

We've got nesting blackbirds but Paris has finally calmed down a bit when they are on the lawn.  Blackbirds are territorial though and you don't often see more than a pair of mates in the garden at this time of year.  Are you sure they are not Starlings?

Lots of baby birds about at the moment and I suspect the lawn is damp and the bugs are in abundance!!!!
My front garden is the same, luckily the back is mainly pavers with a little grass round the corner so the dogs cannot see the birds as they would no doubt be the same. I would carry on as you are, it will probably be a short term thing and would as you say not be worth causing a habit to form for the sake of a few days.
Aileen
"The birds was a film that scared me to bits!!! Years ago LOL

> Blackbirds are territorial though and you don't often see more than a pair of mates in the garden at this time of year.  Are you sure they are not Starlings?

I'm not sure to be honest - I don't know much about birds, all I can tell you is that they are black / brown with orange beaks - Yuk! I really don't like them.

>> "The birds was a film that scared me to bits!!! Years ago LOL

Me too! I really don't like birds.

> Paris has finally calmed down a bit when they are on the lawn

My Pointer goes mad at every bird that lands in the garden. I had to draw the curtains before I went to work this am... just in case moany neighbour is home!!!
I get freaked out by birds flying near me too!
That Hitchcock bloke has a lot to answer for  LOL

Paris almost flies herself when I open the patio doors but a couple of days ago I walked into the room to see her lying down watching the male blackbird hopping about.  Her ears were pricked forward and she did eventually run out but she's not always frantic to get out each time they land.  I don't know why sometimes she is frantic and other time she's not, I can only guess that the blackbird sticks its tongue out at her sometimes. :-)

OH has been cutting our 9 feet high hedge but has had to stop now because we think the nest is in the uncut part of the hedge.  Looks a bit odd but ho hum.  I love birds myself, always have.

I love them too so long as they don't flap by my face....I am quite good at recognising them as well!!.
We had to give up half our front lawn to a drive which entailed removing a lot of bushes,(I had fought against it for years). We waited until late summer but I was still sad to see so much evidence of nests and so sad that we were destroying the natural habitate.. I put up a few boxes but it is not the same :-(

I recognise a lot of species too, I can also recognise a few by song.  I doubt any of my kids could tell a sparrow from a pigeon though.  I blame myself but then again no one taught me, I was interested to find things out for myself.  I was shocked recently that my daughter couldn't recognise a Sycamore tree,  she hadn't got a clue.  Are my children unusual or have other people noticed that young people don't seem to be all that interested in wildlife?

> young people don't seem to be all that interested in wildlife?

How many of them might be if they were not forever getting told 'thats dirty/germy dangerous' etc
Chris

>How many of them might be if they were not forever getting told 'thats dirty/germy dangerous' etc

lol - that definitely wasn't me, that was my mum!!!  My mum on seeing my son rolling around in mud "OH NO, look at what he's doing, he's getting filthy", me "That's what boys do!"
My girls were out doorsy types too.  We won't even go there with hospital trips due to mishaps

> that definitely wasn't me

Nor me, trees are for climbing, puddles for splashing in and grass for playing/rolling about, daughter had a spell when she had to rescue any/every worm from spade when OH was digging garden.........she was only about 4 at the time :-)  but there are a lot who do say it, its like the 'oh dog = nasty dirty dangerous' brigade,
Me and Zuma will have a day at the Suffolk county show at end of the month and with some of the ones there you wonder .......why the *** did you bother bringing the kids to something like this if they are not allowed to go near anything that is moving and breathing, just take em to a museum next time

> Are my children unusual or have other people noticed that young people don't seem to be all that interested in wildlife?

Do you remember those little I-spy books you used to get where you had to go out and find each species. I remember having them for garden birds, butterflys, trees etc.  Of course I wasn't allowed to watch telly after school and there was no internet or wii.  I loved them but maybe not 'cool' enough for todays sophisticated kids.

I think it is because  they go everywhere in a car and are not allowed to explore!
I used to climb trees on the way home from school with my kids. You will be surprised to know how well you remember what a cedar tree looks like when you have sat in one......I SPY Books OH kept all his and our kids loved them too!!

Oh dear, I have a confession ..... I used to catch butterflies with my fishing net and put them in my zoo.  I had butterflies, ladybirds (can anyone remember the whopping great big ones?), caterpillers, frogs, newts, minnows, my tortoise (that could climb up wire) and my friend's rabbit that had total freedom so used to roam the street and the gardens. 

Oh yes, forgot to mention that my friend Gillian always insisted on including worms and woodlice.

I Spy books - great for kids in and out of the car.  and for me too - didn't have much of an 'outdoor education' myself - self-taught - me and my sons [now teenagers/young men] still like to have a look at times - shameful but fun!  They also used to like museums too - especially natural history ones but all sorts - they have enquiring minds that I find difficult to keep up with most of the time don't mind getting dirty and YES love their X-box, Play station PC and are very particular about their clothes, appearance and hair [OMG so many hours spent] 
One interest/obsession doesn't necessarily preclude another.

Back to birds - we have lots of birds round my way - the worst are the geese that insist on an early morning [5 am] very vocal flight!  The biggest dfference I know between Blackbirds and Starlings is that Starlings are slightly speckled and slightly smaller than Blackbirds which also have bright orange beaks.  Crows on the other hand are terrifying and very big black birds.

> Oh dear, I have a confession

Me too..... I had an orange fake croc skin handbag that my "daddy long legs" lived in.......

sounds more like starlings to ne too - from a distance they are dark, but they have pink legs..blackbirds have dark legs...hope this helps with ID but soz I can't solve the birdy issue lol :)