Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Or at 4am, when Noushi needs to eat grass apparently

I have Noushi to thank for getting me outside at 4am

My partner’s got really into The Beatles recently and I’m finding it very entertaining. Beyoncé covered Blackbird on her album Cowboy Carter. It’s gorgeous, and caused KP to go back and listen to the original. Now, after years of resisting the best-selling music act of all time, he’s playing The Beatles on repeat, obsessively listening to their extensive back catalog and passionately fighting their corner when others say the uncomplimentary things he used to say about the band.

I thought about KP’s new-found love for The Beatles this morning, as I walked Noushi at 4am and listened to a blackbird sing…

How listening to one thing can open up a whole new world of other things to discover. Tuning into that blackbird’s song might make you curious about what other birds you can hear… or why the blackbird is singing. You might start out listening to a blackbird and end up hearing to a tawny owl (or a Queen Bee?!). You may notice the tree the blackbird is perched in. Or discover a nest. Or catch a glimpse of the moon.

I don’t make a habit of getting up before 4am but Noushi’s rumbling tummy told me she needed to go out. When I opened my back door, the lure of the birdsong and the hazy pink sky was too strong to resist, so we headed to the nature reserve.

As I sit here, absolutely knackered at 8am, I’m reminding myself of the rewards of my dawn adventure - the cacophony of birdsong, the handsome fox (Noush was not so pleased about that one), the cat who appeared to be playing whack-a-mole, the blazing sun coming up over the allotments and the waning moon fighting for the limelight.

I’ve been meaning to get up in time for the dawn chorus the whole time we’ve been living here… but I’ve never been that great at voluntarily getting up and out early.

I guess I was only waiting for this moment to arise.

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Blackbird chicks found in a nest in my dad’s garden this summer. Sadly I received a message from him last weekend saying the nest had been attacked overnight! A huge proportion of blackbird nests end in failure it seems.

Blackbird Facts

Because we see them so often, blackbirds are often overlooked, but it’s never too late to learn about them…

• The common blackbird (Turdus merula) is a species of true thrush. There are six species of thrush in the UK, though not all are permanent residents. If you thought ‘thrush’ was an unfortunate name, Turdus isn’t much better is it?

• Blackbirds sing to attract mates and ward off potential rivals. Like song thrushes, they are also master impressionists and can mimic other birds as well as manmade sounds.

• Only male blackbirds are really black. Females are brown, often with a paler, sometimes spotty chest. Juveniles are brown with a spotty/streaky chest.

RIP Mama Blackbird

• In a year, a blackbird will typically have two or three broods, each containing three to five eggs. The chicks hatch after only two weeks and are ready to fledge another two weeks after that.

• Blackbirds really do sing in the dead of night sometimes, as I discovered last year.

• Common blackbirds are generally monogamous, with most pairs breeding for life.

Do you know of any other blackbird facts? Share them in the comments if you do!

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4am fox friend

Sources & Further Reading

The inspiration behind The Beatles’ Blackbird

Blackbird by

Shriek of the Week

UK thrush species guide

Blackbird bird song guide by Sussex Wildlife Trust

Woodland Trust Blackbird Profile

Nature is now an official credited artist on streaming sites

You won’t regret listening to Cowboy Carter