The Birds…

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The mockingbird has been causing trouble again. The suet was the issue of contention in the backyard because our resident Mockingbird King claimed it and all the surrounding territory. No other birds were allowed near the feeders, even if they only wanted sunflower seed for which the king has no desire. When the mockingbird gave us (or more importantly, the birds) trouble last time I moved a small suet feeder to the front yard for his convenience. Yesterday I was moving a suet cake over to the bird feeder in the front yard when something interesting caught my eye. That’s how I found this:


Nestled in the crook of one of our Bradford pear trees was a nest constructed of twigs and leaves. I was curious what type of bird had put this nest here so I moved a little closer to see if I could catch a glimpse of its inhabitants.


I had to position my arm with the camera above the nest in order to see inside. Due to this method of picture taking my accuracy was very limited! In the next shot I was able to capture a glimpse of the eggs. I readjusted my camera again and made another attempt.


I managed a clearer shot this time. If you look closely you can see the bluish colored eggs with brown speckles. What kind of bird lays these speckled eggs?

A mocking bird of course! The mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is Tennessee’s state bird. Here’s a cropped shot of the nest. Check out the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Animal Diversity Web page for some great information on the mockingbird.

Maybe all the mockingbird king wanted was room service!

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13 thoughts on “The Birds…”

  2. Great shots Dave! What beautiful eggs. I love this time of year for the gardening and for the birds.

    We aren’t sure, but think there was a mockingbird in the mulberry tree in the back of our yard last spring. We don’t live in mockingbird territory. Maybe it was just passing through, or it might have been another kind of bird that sings the songs of other birds. That bird sang about every bird song I’ve ever heard in the space of about 20 minutes. It was truly amazing. I’ve never heard anything like it in my life.

  4. Mockingbirds can be very territorial and very protective of their chicks and eggs. They’ll even dive bomb people if you get too close.

    And believe me, that sharp beak and whirrring grey feathers can make your heart beat a lot faster than you’d think it could beat…

  5. This is the second year in a row that a mockingbird has nested in our crybaby tree. I have seen bits of shell in the garden after the babies have hatched, but never knew until your pictures that the bits were from mockingbird eggs since we have several nesting birds. Great photos.

    Jan
    Always Growing

  6. That is pretty cool! They look like wren eggs but are much bigger and I have never seen this type of nest either. I hope you’ll document their growth (being safe of course) so we can see the babies grow too. Now, to get those insects for room service…

  7. Great photos, Dave! I had never seen mockingbird eggs, either.

    We have a saucy pair in our yard as well ~ I call the male “Sir Bedivere,” and his bold cheekiness is very amusing. Sometimes when I am gardening I get the feeling I am working for the bossy birds!

  8. Dave the eggs are fantastic looking, thanks for this post and the link…I love learning about the creatures that live in and visit our gardens.

    gail

  9. Great pictures! I’ve been having problems with a pair of blackbirds wanting to destroy all of my newly planted flowers/plants to take the foilage for nest building I think. arghh!

  10. Great pics Dave. The nest looks like the one I found in the jasmine when I tried to lower it to my height for pruning later. My nest was empty so occupants had already flown the cope. Do they use the same nest for a second brood?

  12. Great pictures Dave! I love the Mocking bird’s songs! I see that bird all over the place in this town but we dont have a resident in our yard. I see one in the spring but so far, they dont seem to hang around our house. I really do not want one though as they are very mean and dealing with all the Blue Jays we have is enough for me!

    Today, the Saint and I saw our resident Hawk flying into the woods with a 2 foot snake in his talons! We watched him eat the fresh snake for dinner. Was truly an exciting moment for us….

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The Birds!

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Like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie they came. Our house and community were surrounded. Hundreds or thousands, I could not possibly count them all. These small black birds flew in mass formations like blackened thunderclouds about to burst.


(Use the player to hear the actual birds. It’s a little soft so you may have to turn your volume up.)


They landed in search of food, feasting on whatever they could find. These birds did not appear picky.




The flock lighted in the trees scouring the surrounding hillside for any possible form of nourishment.


They moved from tree to tree as a great black wave. One could only watch as they flew praying that they would fly away to another place far from here. One thing is for sure…



I’m glad I didn’t wash my car!

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10 thoughts on “The Birds!”

  1. They are pesky birds, they seem to prefer heavier coverage to ‘hang out’ in all the time…I see them in magnolias…

    Loved the bird sounds!

    Gail

  2. We have had the flocks of black birds as well. The odd time I’m glad to see them as they devour all the seed that has fallen to the ground and clean up the lawn for me. But most time I don’t like them in the garden.

  4. i heard the sound bite perfectly. it is nice to see the birds migrating and it was good you did not wash the car!

    can you change my blog link in your sidebar to: http://tinaramsey.blogspot.com/
    i don’t have an account at the leaf’s website anymore and am trying to get the new link changed everywhere. boy does it take time. i just noticed yours is the old one. thanks!

  7. They just swooped around all day. It was a little on the creepy side. What is interesting is how they all fly together at the same time like a unit. It’s almost as if they share the same mind or have some sort of hierarchy in the flock.

  9. Kris, thanks for coming by! I think the grackles came for my neighbors yard. He just planted grass seed, unfortunately he might not see much come up, thanks to the grackles. They might be nice birds to have around if there were only one or two!

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