posted
My quasi-pet Northern Mockingbird, Mr Mocky, returned to my yard today with his wife, Mrs. Mocky, after months of absence. Here are pictures of them.
MR. Mocky
MRS. MOCKY
* * * * A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess. Plants: 2894 | From: Nashville, TN | Registered: May 2005
| Seeded: 70.149.131.236
posted
I miss having mockingbirds . We are too wooded and they prefer the more open areas . We do have catbirds , which are almost as fun ! And Yellowbreasted Chats . Do you have them ? They are real clowns !
posted
Yes we have both......but not as common as the Mockingbirds. The Catbird and Brown Thrashers are VERY close relatives of the Mockingbird and all three species are often found together. I had Brown Thrashers nest in my back yard and Northern Mockingbirds nest in my front yard last Spring. I have heard, but not seen, Catbirds in my yard. Yellow-Breasted Chats are actually Warblers, the LARGEST Warbler species in North America, and with the American Robin and Northern Mockingbirds, are the birds that will sing ALL night in Spring and Summer. The Chat has an incredible variety of sounds and calls that make up its song. I have not had a Yellow-Breasted Chat in or near THIS yard, but in one yard I lived at they were REGULAR visitors (and nesters). They tend to prefer clearings in thickets of dense undergrowth, which we don't have around this house.
* * * * A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess. Plants: 2894 | From: Nashville, TN | Registered: May 2005
| Seeded: 70.149.131.236
posted
We had a clearing near our house when we first moved here . The Chats nested there until it grew back up . Now they are in a field across the road from our mailbox , about 1/8th mile from our house . It was cleared a few years ago , but is growing up again , so the Chats will be gone again ! I will miss them . Brown Thrashers and Catbirds nest in or around the perimeter of our yard .
When we lived out in the open , we had Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Loggerhead Shrikes . Do you have them !
posted
We HAD the Loggerhead Shrikes, but nobody has seen them much for the last few years. The last one I saw was 10 years ago. Before that I saw them every day. We do not have Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers in Tennessee......YET! but a few pairs are nesting here each year and I suspect that within a few years we should have a sizable population here. I used to see them all the time when I lived in Texas.
* * * * A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess. Plants: 2894 | From: Nashville, TN | Registered: May 2005
| Seeded: 70.149.131.236
posted
I really need to learn my birds. Any suggestions on how to get started with that Thorny?
* * * * We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart. Plants: 30076 | From: Washington, the state that is... | Registered: Aug 2004
| Seeded: 66.235.45.83
posted
Yes, Triss! Get a copy of The Sibley Fieldguide to Birds of North America. Being in Washington you will probably want the Western edition. I am in Tennessee and use the Eastern edition. One of my birding acquaintances here in Tennessee helped David Sibley with some of the writing of this guide. It is considered to be the BEST guide EVER written on North American Birds. It IS the BEST I have ever used. And get you a set of binoculars if you don't have them some 7X35 are a good power to start off with. Wakmart sells some Tasco Binos for around $20.00 to $25.00 a pair.
* * * * A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess. Plants: 2894 | From: Nashville, TN | Registered: May 2005
| Seeded: 70.149.131.236
posted
Thanks Thorny!!! I assume the book is full of pics that I can compare what I see to the book?
* * * * We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart. Plants: 30076 | From: Washington, the state that is... | Registered: Aug 2004
| Seeded: 66.235.45.83
posted
Well see, I did not know that. That is how knowledgable I am about birding.
* * * * We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart. Plants: 30076 | From: Washington, the state that is... | Registered: Aug 2004
| Seeded: 66.235.45.83
posted
So that's a mockingbird I have those. Thanks for all you teach me. I enjoy learning more about birds. They sure are pretty.
* * * * Plants: 8557 | From: triangle, virginia | Registered: Mar 2005
| Seeded: 4.249.78.70
loz
guest
posted
I love Mockingbirds....last summer I tried to explain the birds I had showing up and was told they were probably Mockingbirds...and yep, that's what they were alright. Just like your picture.
Seeded: 70.16.190.214
posted
Here is a picture of Mr. Mocky taking a break from raking up all the grass cuttings in my yard this Summer.
Slave-Rakin' Mocky
* * * * A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess. Plants: 2894 | From: Nashville, TN | Registered: May 2005
| Seeded: 68.19.195.202
loz
guest
posted
I think I even see a little sweat on his brow.... I can't wait until it warms up a bit so I can put that windowfeeder in...I'm so excited about that....
Seeded: 70.16.190.214
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