A feat of blackbird engineering

A blackbird’s nest was on the lawn this afternoon. There had been heavy rain and some wind. A great number of tī kōuka leaves came down in the rain and I wonder if the nest was in one of those trees. Although the nest has done its job, as the fragments of shell inside show, it seems a shame that such momentous effort should be brought to earth. The inside is packed firmly with mud, while the outside frame is looser (more so since being dislodged) with large pieces of bark, twigs and leaves circling the edge.

I can identify leaves from akeake, kōwhai, karo and tī kōuka (cabbage tree), as well as dried flower stalks, from the garden. The size of the nest, its heft, the use large pieces vegetation in the construction, and the colour of the eggshell fragments indicate that it is a blackbird’s nest.

We see blackbirds often and have come to enjoy their company, particularly their song, and their antics in the birdbath – plus the occasional argy-bargy with Felix. Not so much their scattering of dirt and leaves across the paths – but then, they probably keep the number of snails down. They do a good job of cleaning out the guttering.

VIII
I know noble accents
And lucid, inescapable rhythms;
But I know, too,
That the blackbird is involved
In what I know.

Wallace Stevens, from ‘Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird’

The full Wallace Stevens poem is in the side bar of the page about the blackbird’s nest on the site New Zealand Birds. I’m impressed to find poetry included on a scientific site.