What is Happening to My Mockingbirds?

By Bob Alexander

While barbequing ribs over the weekend, I suddenly realized that there was no musical accompaniment by any of the local mockingbirds that usually serenade me in the morning. In fact I have only seen one of these melody thieves this year. What's happening?

A call to the local farm extension agency proved futile. Other folks had called them about an absence of Mockingbird music, but the county agent didn't know why the birds were gone. Maybe they weren't anywhere else, but in my area in the south, there were few morning musicals being staged each day.

So far, I have only seen one Mockingbird this year and it was skinny. I surmised that he must have been from out of town for his songs didn't seem familiar to me. He also seemed to have a limited repertoire, for he repeated the same calls for over an hour as he flew from tree to tree in my back yard. In addition, to my untrained ear, all of his songs sounded sad.

While it's not unusual for there to be repetition in a Mockingbird's song, it's not common for there to be only a few tunes in its program. At a minimum, normally there would be several different songs.

Up to this point I had assumed that this was a male bird, but after careful study, I decided this was a female. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be a male version anywhere nearby, but she kept mournfully singing her songs, hoping to attract one.

Rating her performance like you would a figure skater, I would have to say that technically she was very good, posting a 5.966. For artistic interpretation though, she only received a 4.978. With an overall score of only 5.472, she would not have made it to the medal rounds.

Over the next few days I looked throughout the neighborhood and did not see a single Mockingbird, except the one in my yard. Last year there were several males, each occupying a section of my wooded yard, ready to defend their nests should an intruder emerge. Their nests are never far from the ground and the female lays four to six bluish green eggs that are speckled with brown spots. We have plenty of bushes and small trees around our house. Areas in which there were nests last year are empty now.

It is a little late for nesting Mockingbirds, so I wonder if this melancholy female made a nest this year. I miss seeing these birds, both male and female, diving at an unfortunate cat, dog, coyote or raccoon which have wandered too close to their territories. These birds will even swoop down on humans that are about to trespass close to their nest.

Mockingbirds are about eight to ten inches in length. They have a long tail in comparison to its body and are a light gray color with their undersides an off-white. Its tail and wings are darker gray with white spots.
It is not unusual to see one of these songbirds walking through a lawn, expanding its wings upward every few steps. No one really knows why they do this, but it is argued among experts that the bird is trying to startle insects and worms that are hiding in the grass. If the bugs are moving, then it is much easier to locate and eat them for breakfast.

Mockingbirds, when they are close by are often ignored. When they are gone, they are missed.

Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at: [http://www.bluemarlinbob.com] http://www.redfishbob.com

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