Just before Christmas we stayed for a few days in my brother-in-law’s holiday home in Christies Beach just south of Adelaide. It was a week of lazing by the pool, reading and sleeping after a very demanding and busy year.
I wasn’t intending doing any birding while I was there, so the birds came to me. [...]

Over the last few weeks the resident Common Blackbirds in our garden have been singing beautifully. They have also been giving their warning calls when I approach too close. With some careful observing I found out where they had built their nest (see photo above). For the second year running they have used a shelf [...]

Do Blackbirds Swoop?
This intriguing question was posted by Jill on one my earlier articles. I assured her in my reply that I have never heard of this species swooping humans.
You have nothing to fear where Common Blackbirds are concerned. I have never experienced swooping with this species. In fact, they are usually rather timid [...]