Blackbird and Robin

Sounds like a 60s TV show or movie doesn’t it, but no, just a couple of birds sitting in the tree when I was walking Maggie this morning.
The stiffness in her front leg has eased considerably, so whilst Hubby was getting up and having his breakfast, I walked her round the Avenue.
It was surprisingly mild, and apart from a runner, I saw no-one.
To be honest, I quite like the sense of solitude as we can plod at a sedate pace, nowhere to be, no-one to meet, no rush and we can take our time.
The day is grey and overcast, but roses of all colours are still bursting forth in gardens. I noticed yesterday we still have three buds on our Ancient Mariner, and the yellow Peace has yet to come out. Those three glorious blooms on the red bush are well gone now.

Photos: the red rose bush under the bedroom window, October 19th 2018

Walking through the cut through, I heard bird chatter and looked up to see three blackbirds in a tree. Whether they were a family is hard to know, but they were quite content to sit there as we walked by. The robin was in the same tree, but on a higher branch, so maybe he was the lookout.
It took me back to the garden in the cottage where we always had an abundance of birds.
We had two pairs of blackbirds, and each raised at least two broods of chicks every year.
We did have a solitary chick one year too.
We also had two robins, and territorial rights were divided by the washing line. I never saw robin chicks though.

Birds here in the garden aren’t so numerous, which is a shame. We have feeders out and will be keeping them stocked in the colder months.
At the moment, there are worms aplenty in the soil judging by the number of worm casts visible. I pulled back the curtains the other morning and there was a beautiful bird foraging in the grass. He was doing very well and scored a hit every time. He was about the size of a thrush with a speckled chest and black tipped wings. We looked it up and believe it was a juvenile jay. Like magpies, they’re part of the Corvidae family and tend to prey on the little birds.
The following day when I pulled back the curtains there was a thrush doing the same thing. It’s nice to know they are about as I’ve heard their song several times but been unable to locate them.
Thrush image from google