Baby blackbirds

Congratulations. You're raising pests.
I understand it's difficult to see a struggling little life and not want to help...
But I also have to wonder if wanting to nurture these birds in particular is more to feel better about yourself than any other reason?
Try not to take it out on the vets. They're just trying to be sensible and rational.
I know I won't have convinced you of anything, you'll just say I'm as bad as the vet nurse etc etc, so feel free to air that opinion in reply. (BTW - I also agree with the comment about outdoor cats + that blackbirds and mynahs are here to stay - but I don't know that actively supporting their populations is warranted either). Sorry for sounding harsh, but I can't let people rant without playing devil's advocate... I'm sure you mean well and think you're doing the right thing, but you're not.
Scott.

I get the endagered native birds thing, don't think I don't.
But it's not in me not to help any animal in distress.
Buddy came here looking for advice on how to feed the blackbirds he rescued, so I'm happy to offer what help I can.
Other people can play God with creatures lives.
Or Shiva, as the case may be.

Buddy..if you go to this UK wildlife forum you'll be able to register and ask any question you want about blackbirds.
I would have sent you a PM but this antiquated forum board doesn't seem to allow it.

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/british-birds/86173-feeding-blackbirds-and-starlings.html

Cheers: Vin

Vin, most people who visit this site know it is provided by [link=http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/]Birds Australia[/link] whose aim is the conservation of Australian native birds certainly not introduced bird species especially those which are having a direct and significant impact on the conservation of native species which are already under threat.

So, why would anyone with that view in mind be obliged to help someone who wishes to perpetuate the survival of an introduced species. A few people tried to explain that reasoning to the OP however it was not welcome. So be it.

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Well done Woko! ( have you noticed my change of attitude regarding blackbirds?) I don't have any nests on my property, but quite a few blackbirds come into my garden, they must have nests on the land next door. I can't go in there, the man has a gun, he doesn't want me there. Not much I can do! I have seen the Bassian Thrush with lots of little worms,she had young . One baby flew into my window last year and was killed, very tragic. (I have stopped cleaning my windows since, to make them less shiny, hope it works!)

I always thought that the noisy miners were a worse pest then blackbirds?

I don't have either of them in Perth,luckily,but I would've thought both were pests

Just found my first blackbird nest at home (stumbled across it, wasn't looking for it). Destroyed the 3 eggs. Feel like a big meanie, but they were still just yolk, and I know it's for the best.
It's interesting re-reading this post and the young wattlebird post at present... Certainly topics that will always raise the heat!
My initial reply here was more harsh than it should have been. As a vet, I took the comments re vets personally. Comments like "some vets, huh" and "won't be going back there in a hurry" are just irritating and ignorant when you think that, no matter which vet clinic / zoo / wildlife centre they could have been taken to, the answer / option offered would have been the same regardless. That should tell people something surely! I also know that most (if not all) young birds, raised at home by untrained people, will die in a slower manner than would have been provided by the vet. No photo updates on this thread, so I assume that was the case here...
Anyway, as someone who has to euthanise baby / injured blackbirds/ starlings etc fairly regularly, I can understand that it is hard to look at a struggling individual and make the hard choice. We also have healthy fledglings brought into us that should probably have been left where they were (granted cats and roads can be game-changers on this front - again, I suspect you did the right thing with the wattlebirds Nathan and your intentions were admirable).
Anyway, we'll all never agree on these sorts of issues, but that's the update from me :)
Cheers,
Scott.

Better still, Correa (in my opinion), destroy their nests before the eggs are laid. This seems to be discouraging them at my place. No young ones at all this breeding season.

Well done, kentsateprof, & thanks for doing your bit to help Australia's bird life. It needs all the help it can get in the face of the war on the environment currently under way in this great nation of ours.

Just been reading these old posts.

We all know that the biggest threat to the Bassian Thrush and all wildlife is the human race. Might I suggest that the non indigenous humans who are killing the blackbirds in their gardens think about the impact their houses, roads, work places, shopping centres etc. have on the natural habitat and food supply of the Bassian Thrush! Maybe a human cull might be a more effective approach!!!! 

Thank you to buddyblue (the original poster) for caring about these innocent birds. Blackbirds are beautiful birds and make excellent parents. They are just fighting to survive in an ever decreasing and hostile environment like most wildlife.

Hi sarahlovesallbirds. I can appreciate your love of the Common Blackbird. They have beautiful calls & are interesting to watch as they scratch around in litter looking for food. Unfortunately, in the Mt Lofty Ranges in SA they do take up the ecological space which naturally belongs to the Bassian Thrush, an endangered species here which has very similar behaviour to the Blackbird. Therefore, accepting the Common Blackbird as part of our wildlife scene is disadvantaging the Bassian Thrush & depriving a number of other native bird species of their food. Hence, where I live I have a control programme for the Common  Blackbird whereby I destroy their nests (if I can locate them) before breeding occurs. So far there has been a gradual decline in the Blackbird numbers here but as yet no Bassian Thrushes have appeared, probably because neighbouring landowners between my place & the nearest Bassian Thrush habitat are yet to adopt Blackbird control. 

Many people are attracted to the Common Blackbird by its beautiful call. However, if they are keen on beautiful bird calls then they could do even better, in  my opinion, by attracting the native Grey Shrike-thrushes, Golden Whistlers & Rufous Whistlers by protecting & restoring native vegetation. 

Accepting that the Common Blackbird as part of Australia's wildlife is one approach to biodiversity protection. However, accepting introduced birds as part of Australia's biodiversity is almost certainly dooming a number of native species to extinction which is hardly in the interest of biodiversity protection & restoration, I would have thought. Rather, control of introduced species such as the Common Blackbird needs to be part of an overall approach to biodiversity restoration which can include, of course, natural habitat protection & restoration. Part of this is driven by the ability of the Common Blackbird to spread the seeds of introduced plants into natural bushland & forests as mentioned above by zosterops. This then compromises the quality of natural habitats which I can see you are keen to protect. 

Your, presumably, tongue in cheek approach to the human race as a method of controlling threats to wildlife may have merit in some quarters. However, given the survival instinct & the laws of the land it's unlikely to gain much support at this stage. However, I strongly suspect that Homo sapiens is currently undertaking its own long term control measures on itself with its attack on biodiversity & penchant for accelerated climate change. 

are there any peer-reviewed studies on the likelihood and degree of competition between blackbirds and Bassians? other than speculation revolving around their both being ground-frequenting thrushes? I'd be interested in seeing some data. 

Regardless of its merits in terms of helping the Bassian, i think any blackbird culls would be ineffectual in long-established populations (unless perhaps some biological control was developed/introduced), and would only be possible on the fringes of the range where they are not yet common (they re-nest immediately and are especially adapted to heavy predation, in fact most nesting attempts fail from natural causes). 

Possible Bassian Thrush impacts aside the blackbirds are certainly changing the ecology of many areas resulting in a practically quasi-eurasian landscape throughout much of the southeast, spreading the likes of ligustrums, pyracantha, hedera, ilex, prunus spp. etc into native bush, makes me wonder what the australian environmental weed situation would be like if blackbirds were never introduced. they are spreading some solanums outside their natural ranges and are at least partly responsible for the massive and remarkable range expansion of pittosporum undulatum into entirely new regions, completely modifying the ecosystems with monocultures of a tree reaching up to 15m and possesses allelopathic properties combined with heavy shading and alters the fire regime. I also heard reports of impacts on some threatened terrestrial Orchidaceae which were disturbed by the blackbird's soil-moving capabilites. 

I have just found this topic as early yesterday morning my cat brought a blackbird hatchling inside to me and I've been searching the internet looking how to help best. I called the RSPCA, who told me to take it to the vet (it was 6am on a Sunday, Fauna Rescue weren't answering their phones yet!). I took it into the vet, where the desk girl said there was nothing they could do for it, but I could leave it there. I opted against that, I thought he would probably die because he's been cold, in shock, and had punctures from the cat. A young vet happened to come out and confirmed that he would probably die because the cat punctures get infected easily; however if I wanted to try and give it a chance she mixed me a little bottle of antibiotics and gave me an amount of insectivore rearing mix. I think it's important to note here the hatchling (totally naked, must have just hatched) was unidentified at this stage. I fed it through the day, and half of today when I finally got a call back from the extremely nice lady from Fauna Rescue in South Aust (we are in Blackwood). The bird since did a big turnaround and is very vital and healthy! I think it will probably make it.

She did an ID of the bird over the phone, and ID'd it as a blackbird. She said obvisouly that they don't accept the birds for rearing, and it is against the law for me to release it. HOWEVER she explained that if I continue to raise it (of course I am), I should handle it a great deal, as tamed blackbirds make excellent pets and bond very well with their human and can be housetrained so as to not be stuck in a cage. As they have no other birds to mimic and learn from in this situation, their breeding and social instincts are affected (basically they think they're people). I've always been fairly against keeping birds in captivity, but this seems like a good solution to me if I can keep it in the house with an open cage as more of a refuge for it, rather than a prison.

Well done buddyblue, don't doubt your instinct to shelter a helpless creature.

Hi Woko, Thanks for your reply. I appreciate your viewpoint. 

As far as my cat goes, you need not worry too much. She is so old and lazy, I'm home most of the day with small children and she seldom gets up to do anything. She is well fed, and in this particular instance I beleive she'd done nothing more than find it on the ground and bring it inside to me. She wears a bell and also has a very deformed tail which leads her to not have great balance, which inhibits her drive to hunt anything.

What if I propose to keep his open cage indoors, and when it is outdoors it will be a closed aviary? I'm sure I can find one for not too much on Gumtree. We have a double doored entrance lobby, which should help any escape. I do intend on spending much time humanising him, especially as the wildlife rescue society said they are very trainable and bond strongly with their human. I am very much anti full-captivity, where an individual doesn't have room to move. 

Would this be a solution that would be satisfactory do you think? Do you have a further suggestion that might be acceptable to both parties?

I understand your viewpoint, and largely agree with you, but when it comes down to the life of an individual I cannot 'play god'. In fact, that's how we ended up with our cat in the first place!

Well done to anyone raising blackbirds!!!  I am doing the same. They are in my garage and I check on them every day. To all who think this is a bad thing, DON'T BOTHER COMMENTINGWould you like to be treated in a harmfull way?

If you are in Australia I believe that raising Common Blackbird is an ill-considered action and runs contrary to the actions of our government's biosecurity policies

ps please refrain from shouting (the use of capitals) as that is just plain ignorant

I'm not sure what the definition of "noxious" is, but the fact is that the blackbird is an introduced species that competes somewhat vigorously and successfully against some native species.  I am a bit sad to see the blackbird becoming more common at my own properties, at the expense of other birds like thrushes.

I guess what I was subtly getting at was I do not see the need to introduce the concept of "noxiousness" when we know that the bird is exotic.  The blackbird is also a thrush.  Again, how is this relevant to the points being made?  I do not care what the government defines as being prohibited; they will always be decades behind what is known by science in any case. 

I try to remove exotic plants from my place - whether they are noxious or not.  Why shouldn't I apply the same standards to animals?

Now you're just getting silly.

There's nothing wrong with trying to preserve nature.  If you think there is, let us know, by all means.