Earlier today my niece heard a commotion involving her nesting blackbirds. On her first glance out of the window she thought a bird of prey had landed on the garden arch, but on a second look she realised it was a cuckoo. It hopped into a poplar tree & headed around to the far side.
The blackbirds took exception to it's presence near their nest in the hedge, & they attacked the cuckoo, which did a tactful retreat to a tree further up the garden!
The blackbirds stayed about apparently “on guard” for a while before relaxing.
Later in the afternoon there was another blackbird commotion & it may be that the cuckoo returned to the garden although it was not seen again.
The blackbirds are feeding at the moment, so it maybe that the cuckoo was scouting for something else when it ran into a pair of aggressive blackbirds.
