~~~
Friday, March 3
~~~
This mockingbird visited us about 3:25 pm.
It seemed to be enjoying the suet – and not too alarmed that I was nearby.
A few fun facts on the Northern Mocking Bird:
A male may learn around 200 songs throughout its life.
Both males and females sing a varied, repetitive song that can be heard all day—and sometimes all night—during the spring and summer.
They can incorporate non-bird noises they hear into their songs.
Mockingbirds are very territorial. They will chase off much larger animals, including humans, if they think their nests are being threatened.
I love to hear the mockingbird. We rarely had them when we lived
in the country, but here close to town we heard one most of the summer — and he/she sang from midnight until two or three in the morning! Then again later in the day. So we’re making up for all those years without hearing the mockingbirds sing!
Some of their long, nighttime songs are do do with defending a territory.
Just 2 years ago, when I was preparing for major surgery, a mockingbird sang to me for 3-4 hours each night until the day of the surgery! It was a beautiful song, but a little annoying in its timing! They are pretty birds!
Even though their song is pretty, it can be annoying at night.