Singing for his Supper

Over the spring and summer I have continued to put out a couple of apples each day to help the thrushes and Blackbirds. My garden has become a bit of a magnet with regulars turning up most days. We have the occasional visit of a very timid Mistle Thrush, but each morning and evening we are entertained by the glorious sound of a Song Thrush. It has adopted the tree in next door’s garden, using it to mark his territory.

I am not convinced that there is a female Song Thrush about, for this bird – and one that responds from the other end of the village – continues to sing day after day and has done so since March. I had always thought that the cock bird quietens once he has found a mate, but this bird continues at full blast for hours at a time. I’m not sure whether to feel sorry as he forlornly sings for a mate, or to just enjoy to sounds that he makes.