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Keep it moving, buddy
Things have been different since Mr. Mockingbird homesteaded the backyard. That pine tree to this pine tree, and over to that maple by the shed are his announced boundaries. The cherry tree is his command post.
Good luck to any bird that thinks this area is open air space.
He’ll cuss intruders in about a dozen different bird calls. If that doesn’t work he’ll fly sorties. If that doesn't work it's a hell-bent-for turnips bombing run.
One day last month the Mama Grackles was trying to feed their overgrown kids. Like all of nature’s kids they were shoving and bumping and making too much noise. It finally got on Mr. Mockingbird’s nerves.
He started out with the call of a killdeer. In rapid succession he followed with the cry of a hawk, blackbird chatter and an excellent cat’s meow.
They didn’t get the message.
He launched himself from his perch atop the cherry tree, did a helicopter maneuver, then a dive-bomb run that was so quick and unexpected one of the grackle kids fell over when it tried to duck.
The Mama Grackles understood and got the flock out of there.
There are some 400 different species of birds flapping, squawking, perching and pecking around the Virginia. They range from tiny humming birds that weigh about as much as a sheet of paper to bald eagles and their majestic seven-foot wing span.
One of the most important birding areas in the state is the Culpeper Basin of which we are a part. The area supports upland birds – including the rare Upland Sandpiper – that are not found in other parts of the state.
Back to Mr. Mockingbird. He's doing three shows a day – early morning, mid-day, and a go-for-broke twilight show. Good performer he is, he'll move from tree to tree while singing, always ending atop the cherry tree.
The male mockingbirds do all of the yakking. It's all about impressing females.
The males start rapping in mid-spring and keep it up until a female responds or it is August. When and if a female responds, the guy shuts up and takes on domestic duties. For the guy who has to sing all the way to August ... better luck next year, dude.
When the bachelor mockingbird finds himself a good woman, he has a mate for life. He and his mate will raise three broods a year – two to three chicks in a brood. He builds a new nest for each brood – the female furnishes it with grass, cotton, thread, leaves, anything soft.
Mockingbirds are fearless when protecting their territory. They’ll fly combat missions on anything from other birds to dogs to people. No, people don’t have to go to the hospital to get a shot because the mockingbird drew blood. They pester more than they peck. And they’ll keep it up until the intruder has had enough and goes someplace else.
The guys who study birds estimate a mockingbird knows more than 50 different bird calls. One mockingbird studied knew some 200, including the calls of birds from far away lands.
And that brings us to an important question: What does Mr. Mockingbird sound like when he’s just being himself?
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