Lone parent? (1 Viewer)

A male blackbird has been feeding and 'training' a young blackbird in the garden for the past few days but no sign at all of female. Is it normal for the male to be a full-time parent like this... could something have happened to the female or is she perhaps still nesting? - In which case how much time could there be between youngsters of the same brood being ready to leave the nest?

When the young leave the nest, the adults take charge of a few youngsters each, so your bird is a Daddy's Girl (or Boy). Somewhere around there'll be the female with her Mummy's Boys (or Girls).

Our local blackbirds have just started their third brood. When the previous brood have been fledged for about a week, the female starts laying the next batch! The male brings one or two youngsters to our feeders, ( no doubt others have gone to other gardens), he shows them what's on offer, then gradually starts to ignore them. By the time the new eggs hatch, they have to be independent. It's like a conveyor belt!

Thanks guys - that's really helpful, I didn't know what was going on!