Blackbird on the Lawn (gouache style)

The blackbird is a member of the thrush family. The male is glossy black with an orange-yellow bill and eye ring, while the female is dark brown, often with a faintly spotted breast. On a lawn it runs a few steps, stops with its head tilted to one side, then stabs at the ground for a worm. Its rich, fluting song is one of the most familiar sounds of spring evenings in Britain.

Blackbirds start nesting early, often in March, in hedges, climbers and dense shrubs, and they can raise two or three broods a year. Hold off trimming hedges until the end of August. In a dry summer worms go deeper and become hard to reach, so a shallow bird bath helps. In autumn and winter blackbirds eat a lot of fruit, so leave windfall apples on the ground and grow berrying shrubs such as pyracantha, cotoneaster or holly. Don't use slug pellets.

A male blackbird stands on a dewy lawn beside a flower border. Dew still lies on the grass, and damp ground is when worms come closest to the surface. It's the blackbird's best chance of a meal, and the picture shows the bird doing what it does best in a garden: watching, listening and waiting for the next worm.