The Battle for the Cherries

You may not have heard of it, but there is a war going on in Salzburg. Every year, blackbirds fight over the cherries in our neighbour’s garden.

June has come and the magnificent cherry tree in our neighbour’s garden has started producing cherries after an exceptional

bloom this year. They are not yet ripe let alone fully grown, but the blackbirds are already circling around and taking a sample peck to see if they are already edible. Ever since we moved here, we have been regaled with this noisy and silly spectacle by the birds.

For a number of years now, we have hosted a blackbird nest in our clematis on the balcony. The nesting birds feel secure as they are high above the ground, away from prowling cats below, hidden and safe from the pesky crows from above and also shaded from the sun and the rain by the

balcony on top of us. The green gardens around us and the plant-filled balconies

provide ample building materials and there is an added luxury for the last comfy touch: Grizzly, my other neighbour’s husky, is brushed regularly as he sheds a lot of hair. Perfect fluffy stuff to upholster the nest and turn it into a warm soft place to lay the eggs in. Unfortunately, we had to

trim the clematis last year so it is not an ideal nesting place this year. No problem for one particular blackbird who has been

trying to open a small garden lamp hanging from the wall on the other side, possibly to build his nest inside it. Clever birds, these blackbirds, one would think, but

when it comes to cherries, all their cleverness flies out of the window if you will excuse the pun.

You see, blackbirds can be extremely territorial. If another bird comes close to their nesting place, they will chase it away. The males are always fighting for a female’s attention and, in our case, for sole right to all the cherries in the tree. In fact,

we have noticed that they spend more time fighting each other than actually picking cherries off the tree. I sometimes wonder if the few cherries each individual bird

picks are enough to offset the energy wasted on such fights. As usual, there is always an opportunistic third blackbird (or fourth or fifth in our case!) who benefits from the ruckus the other birds cause by sneaking up and making off with a war

booty of stolen cherries. Our poor neighbour just about manages to salvage a bowl full of fruit before all of it is ruined or taken by the blackbirds. We know that the “war” has started when the beautiful melodic birdsong that blackbirds sing to attract

a mate turns into multiple loud shrieks of outrage which can easily be translated into “How dare you pick cherries off my tree?”

The craziness this year is not only reserved to the birds. It has also infected the plants. Have you noticed that it seems to

be an exceptionally blooming year for plants and trees? Our windows have been covered with thin veils of pollen of different kinds for two months now and I am not talking about the Sahara sand. The

peony made flowers as large as saucers, the hortensia is on the cusp of one pink extravaganza and even the so-called Christmas cactus, which normally flowers

in November, did not want to be outdone and is blooming again! I haven’t done anything special this year as a lot of things survived last winter and are coming back. I just need to buy some basil and mint for my culinary needs and that is it.

Meanwhile, trying to read a book on the balcony is impossible due to the noise the birds are making. Perhaps I should follow Meggy’s example and avoid the balcony altogether and lie down on the sofa or the

bed for a little afternoon siesta. What a clever girl she is!