Easy Easter treats and blackbirds singing

The Blackbird, Turdus merula merula Linn
The Observer book of birds describes the blackbird as a songster second to none

Chocolate nests - an Easter treat

A little blackbird lives near me . Every evening he sits on the aerial on my neighbour's roof and sings his heart out. He has a rich, sweet, full whistle. When I hear him sing I feel it is like a golden musical ribbon winding it's way round the world, across the centuries and somehow it's a sound that goes through me and all the people I love, binding us together. As often happens, Mother Nature has given the male a splendid midnight black plumage and a brilliant crocus yellow bill. The female is dark brown with a black tail and brown bill.
Their eggs are greenish- blue and speckled with brown. It is quite easy to spot a few broken shells near a hedge once the baby birds have hatched. The blackbird is a Resident bird. I really like knowing that he won't go away, he keeps me company
.Here  is a short poem that Thomas Hardy wrote about a blackbird., building his nest.

 

' I Watched a Blackbird'

I watched a blackbird on a budding sycamore,
One Easter Day, when sap was stirring twigs to the core,
I saw his tongue and crocus-coloured bill,
Parting and closing as he turned his trill
Then he flew down, seized on a stem of hay,
And upped to where his building scheme was under way,
As if so sure a nest was never shaped on spray.

 I made some chocolate Easter nests today while listening to the blackbird serenade me.

Chocolate nests

200g chocolate

 70g butter

150g Allbran and Rice Krispies

Sugar coated eggs

Melt the chocolate with the butter over a very low heat. Stir until creamy and then tip in the cereal mixture. The Allbran gives a twiggy effect , like a nest. Spoon into cupcake cases and place a sugar- coated egg in the centre of each one.

Ingredients for the chocolate nests