Nov
23
2009
Mockingbird Summer
Author: admin
Watching the Mockingbirds playing in the ficus hedge yesterday made me think about the entertaining songs they sang all Spring and Summer. I really don’t know if it was just one bird that never seemed to have a quiet moment, or several staking out our backyard. I rather think it was one because when I was able to observe him he seemed to follow the same track around the yard. The Mockingbird would end up sitting for a time in a Eucalyptus tree at the edge of our property while continuing to sing his heart out. There was little doubt that our backyard was part of his territory which normally consists of 1 to 2 acres. He would stay in our yard for about 5-10 minutes then leave to revisit the rest of his territory before returning. We could almost set a clock by his routine visits.
I suspected this vocal entertainer was a male in the process of defining his territory and trying to attract a mate. Frankly, I worried for him because if Mockingbird vocalizations are intended for those purposes he was having a pretty hard time finding a female to settle down with. The singing went on and on, day and night for weeks. He actually kept it up so far into the night that it disturbed my husband’s sleep. I guess that happens often when Mockingbirds are about. But it had the opposite affect on me … the singing actually lulled me to sleep. To be honest, I thought his singing was wonderful — even beautiful. And I missed it when it finally came to an end.
I’m not able to identify birds by their vocalizations even though I took an interesting class about it once. So I wasn’t able to identify the various tunes the Mockingbird sang. But I know he was mimicking a number of different birds. It really was delightful. And it saddened me when I no longer heard him. Sad for missing the beautiful sounds, but heartened by the thought that he had finally found his mate.
Admin
Birdwatchin.com
