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My Mockingbird gets up with the sun and I awake with a tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet and a final tweet before he takes a breath to start the concert again with the same five notes. It's a wonderful way to greet a new day.
Granted, most mornings I don't want to get up with the sun, but no one mentioned this to my feathered friend. He has a powerful and projecting voice that wakes me out of a sound sleep each day promptly at five AM. The first inclination is to get angry when awakened from a good night's sleep, but after a few minutes, the sound enters your soul and you realize something beautiful has just happened.
Until I did a little research on the subject, I had no idea why this bird is singing with such gusto each morning. It's always the same five notes and then after fifteen minutes or so, he will fly away to another part of the yard to sing something entirely different. He is searching for a mate and at the same time he is claiming in song, his territory.
The Northern Mockingbird can imitate over thirty other birds as well as such sounds as barking dogs, chirping crickets, and squeaky hinges and it has been argued that some of these wild birds must have gone to a Michael Jackson concert because some of their songs sound like his music.
When the male Mockingbird finds a mate the songs continue, but not as loud. She joins him in their musical arrangements. The music is usually softer and tenderer than when the male was singing solo.
Though they are monogamous, it usually only lasts during the breeding season. Some mated pairs however have been known to stay together for over eight years. This is generally the life span of the Northern Mockingbird.
When the pair settles down to the business of raising a family, they build a nest of grass, feathers, string and just about anything soft; the male doing most of the work. The nest is usually three to ten feet above the ground. Nests in bushes and small ornamental trees are favorite places to begin a family.
Mockingbirds are savagely protective of their home; especially if it is filled with eggs are newly hatched birds. Not long ago my cat Spike was lying on the deck and licking his chops as he listened to the sound of chirping baby birds coming from a Holly bush a few feet away. Suddenly he was dive bombed by an angry Mocking bird that pecked him so hard on his head that he still walks carefully around that part of the yard, even though the chicks have left the nest.
After the eggs are hatched and the young one leave the nest, the adult male and female abandon that nest and build another one. Here they will repeat the same process again; build, lay eggs, watch the chicks hatch and then leave the nest.
The male, ever diligent, has already been building another nest. When the young have left the first nest, it's time to occupy the second nest, and so the story continues. Each pair of Mockingbirds will have several broods during the mating season, and then things cool off until next spring.
It's a joy to hear Mockingbird songs. It is also fun to watch male birds chase someone who has ventured too close to their nests, especially someone they recognize has having already been warned against walking too close to the little ones.
Studies have shown that male Mockingbirds will single out individuals they're familiar with, while letting other folks pass them by. I laughed when my brother was attacked repeatedly, when everyone else was spared the wrath of the mocker who had a nest near our front door. I didn't know that they could spot weirdness among us humans.
I've learned a lot from my Mockingbirds:
1. Start the day with a song.
2. When you find a mate, there is the possibility that it will last forever. Make the most of it.
3. Build a house, flip it and build another. After doing this several times, head south.
4. Protect your family.
These birds sound a lot like us, don't they? Bob Alexander is a true son of the southern portion of America and 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.homeandgardenbob.comhttp://www.redfishbob.com
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