FreeLists / tn-bird / [tn-bird] Re: mockingbirds at feeders?

[Dthomp2669@xxxxxxx]

Since I moved into this house in 1991, I have had several generations of 
mockingbirds feed themselves and their young on peanut butter 
(non-crunchy--for some reason, they spit out the pieces of nut, so it is a 
waste of money to use it), grape jelly, oranges, apples and other fruit that 
becomes too overripe for my taste.  They also love suet and the bird cakes 
which I make from Martha Sergeant's recipe.  The mockers eat all this stuff 
pretty much year round.  Mine do seem to take a haietus for about 6-8 weeks 
when they have fattened up after they are finally through with all their 
nesting chores, then show back up looking sleek and clean again after it gets 
pretty cold or by Christmas.

At present, I have two families of mockers who surrounded me this morning as 
I put out their food.  The pair from across the street has brought its second 
set of young to my feeder, and one parent is ferrying peanut butter back to 
the other parent who is sitting on the next with the THIRD clutch of eggs 
this season.  Last year, they actually raised FIVE separate families.  By 
late September--early October, the parent birds were sad sights in their 
total bedraggled plumage.

Much to the surprise of people who have been here and witnessed it, my 
mockers come to my call.  This morning I had one parent bird and its babies 
from across the street and another parent bird and its babies from a yard 
back behind my property.  At one point, I had five mockers fluttering around 
on the wires in front of me, the roof overlooking the deck just above me, and 
a couple in my blooming althea (AKA rose of Sharon) in front of me.  Even the 
babies have learned the signal just as the first fledglings did who have 
already been banished from the smorga--bird.  They come to my beck & call, 
waiting with frenzied anticipation while I distribute the food, and the old 
ones come right down within a foot of my hand when I am doing that.

One sad thing is that I have only seen one parent from the pair out back for 
a couple of weeks.  That one parent does leave with food, so perhaps the 
other "half" is also on the nest.  It seems that I have a "single parent" 
working the back.  Actually, the other day, one of the "across the street" 
birds actually flew back to the back yard area with food, so I do not know if 
it got confused or if it was giving the other bird a helping hand (wing).  
They are all from the same lineage, most likely, so who knows?  Maybe there 
is a bit of family loyalty.  Although the parents scrap over the food when 
they are all ferrying it to the nest, they seem to "join forces" against the 
starlings when they get the babies over here to feed themselves.  It is 
amazing how quickly the young become proficient at eating alone, but yet 
revert to the wing quivering, cheeping little babies again as soon as a 
parent appears. Those babies, even when quite young, can really fight off the 
adult starlings and send them packing from the feeder.  Never underestimate 
the terror emitted by the mockingbirds, no matter how young they are.

My mockers are sort of my pride and joy.  They are like little friends who 
know that I am here to provide for them, and sometimes, they seem to answer 
me when I talk to them.  They appear to be cocking their heads and listening 
to my voice just like my little poodle dogs do.

Put out the right stuff, and the will give you many hours of feeder joy.

Dee Thompson
Nashville, TN.
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