RE: Unseasonal blackbird breeding

["Osborn, Paul PR" <>]

Our resident (Cooranbong, NSW) Magpies and Kookaburras are both feeding
newly fledged young, their second broods for the year. I have not
observed them breeding this late in the season before. It is not as
though we have had a particularly good season weatherwise, we
desperately need rain. Our Hardenbergia violacea vine is flowering and
it usually doesn't do this until around the solstice in late June.
Strange days indeed.

Paul Osborn
 

>Over the last few days I have found two dead blackbird chicks in my 
>garden (Hamilton, sw Victoria).  Both were only a day or so old.  The 
>weather here has been cool and dry.  Why on earth are blackbirds 
>nesting in April?  I wonder if they know something about the sort of 
>climate we are going to have this year.
>
>Any ideas...
>
>Cheers
>
>
>Steve
>