Blackbirds (1 Viewer)

Suspect we have had the same female blackbird nesting with us for 3 tears .

What is known about site loyalty?

Are females more sedentary than males?

Could it be singing males are attracted to a territory because a female is already in residence?

George Hogg said:

Suspect we have had the same female blackbird nesting with us for 3 years .

What is known about site loyalty?

Are females more sedentary than males?

Could it be singing males are attracted to a territory because a female is already in residence?

Click to expand...

George,
Given that Blackbirds in UK are partial migrants (some remain year-round, some migrate south for varying distances - I don't have the BTO Migration Atlas to hand at my present location - and some Fennoscandian birds migrate here in winter, the answers to your questions could resemble those to 'How long is a piece of string?'.

Clearly migrant Blackbirds are partly excluded from your questions. I say partly, because some regular winterers in a UK garden could be those who have moved a short distance from further north in UK. Also, it's not unlikely that some Fennoscandian birds (those adults with little or only dull yellow in their bills) also are site-faithful.

However, some measure of site-faithful behaviour (eg males v females) must be available from the BTO Constant-effort ringing scheme across the country. I expect that someone at the BTO will see your query and be able to provide some info.

I don't know if Blackbird females actually hold a winter territory or just hang around an area if food is available, unlike female Robins that do hold territory, but I would think that the influx of Fennoscandian birds in winter puts pressure on UK birds that remain for winter. In spring, UK wintering male birds presumably have first choice of territory, and so are likely to choose prime habitat, whatever females are doing. Returning migrants from the south would then have a more limited territory choice unless they could oust resident males, seemingly an evolutionary disadvantage. However, if the winter in UK has been harsh, resident male mortality will be higher, and returning migrants would occupy a much higher proportion of prime habitat, showing that their strategy has some evolutionary advantages. If UK's winters continue to warm long-term, then the advantages of the 'migrate to the south from UK' strategy may diminish.
MJB

George Hogg said:

Suspect we have had the same female blackbird nesting with us for 3 tears .

What is known about site loyalty?

Are females more sedentary than males?

Could it be singing males are attracted to a territory because a female is already in residence?

Click to expand...

We had the same female for about 7 years. We knew it was her by behaviour; if we weren't outside she'd land on the windowsill and tap on the glass til we went out to feed her, etc. She had 2-4 broods every year, either in our garden or next door. Finally, I can only think 'old age' caught up with her, she got much slower to move about, until she would sit virtually all day near the back door, only taking small amount of food. One morning she didn't arrive.

It will be interesting to see, if you can, how long your bird can survive.