Following the blackbird’s story

South Uist Blind, pink-skinned, with just the faintest dusting of down, the chicks were huddled together so closely it was impossible to count them

The blackbirds have chosen yet again to build their nest at virtually ground level. Last year they sited it within the tangle of shrubs beside the garden bench, forcing us to abandon one of the pleasantest spots in which to sit, as our every approach caused the incubating female to flee in panic.

This summer, thankfully, it is on the opposite side of the garden, wedged between two slim stems of a large escallonia. Beautifully constructed from interwoven grasses now dried and brown, the nest is partially camouflaged by the slender branches of a fuchsia brought down in the winter gales and left lying against the fence in the hope of adding even a little more cover against future winds.