Joe - So glad I could bring back such wonderful memories for you. You helped me reach back and remember my Dad hand feeding chickadees in the yard, and that he had a bumblebee that would come sit on his palm. So grateful for parents who were such good role models and mentors.
I was so taken with your stories that I read them out loud to my husband to many chuckles.
Many thanks to all others who have offered advice and shared experiences. So far am just trying the annoy the mockingbird technique, including playing sounds of hawks on my iPAD. I will try setting up an alternate peanut butter/grape jelly site once I decide where to put it. I have two sets of feeders and the one the mocker has taken over is off a second story deck. I think the bird likes it because it is high and he can retreat to a holly tree that towers above house and still harass the birds from there. He is doing a good job because the 2 niger feeders are not going down very fast.
-----Original Message----- From: Joe Lively
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2015 6:45 PM To: va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [va-richmond-general] Message From RAS Website LinkRe: This response is to recent log by Suzanne Jenkins about her mockingbird visitor.
Hi, Suzanne!Thanks for stirring some memories. Mockingbirds certainly do have a pugnacious manner and I enjoy seeing them play the role of boss hogof the yard. I have been a fan of mockingbirds for some 70 years. Early childhood experiences perhaps elevated them to the status of one of my favorites.
Long ago, watching my father hand feed mockingbirds a mixture of cut up raisins, cherries and walnuts proved the territorial nature of this bird. That mocker would swoop in to land on my dad's shoulder or broad brimmed hat. Then he would hop down from this temporary perch to his hand and fill his stomach until it bulged. Once he had had his fill, he would struggle to lift off and settle on a low branch of one of the rows of small pecan trees
adjacent to our old farm house.Dad would also hand feed other species of birds, but woe be unto any other unfortunate critter that attempted to approach the free handouts offered to them. In addition to other birds, I remember that mocker intimidating our old family dog and even make the family cat scoot for cover. The only bird that had the brass to stand up to that mockingbird was an occasional bluejay. But, only with a nearly satisfied appetite would the mocker give ground.
Many years later, I also enjoy hand feeding birds. I have only been fortunate to have had one mockingbird take offerings from my hand. That was years ago. All mockingbirds that I have observed share the same traits, especially during the cold winter days when their naturally available diet diminishes. They will tend to guard any wild grape vine or berry bush as if they sense their survival depends upon that particular source. Perhaps it does in some cases.
I suspect that many mockingbirds succumb to extremely cold temperatures and nocturnal predators. Every winter, I find white mottled, gray feathers adjacent to the very trees and bushes that provide food, cover. The prime predator suspect would be any of several species of owls that are abundant throughout our rural home area. Nocturnal cameras have documented that feral cats frequently take advantage of low refuges that are typically used by mockingbirds and other small birds at night.
If you enjoy hearing the pleasing sound bites coming from this mimic, you can enhance their habitat to attract more. Plant dogwoods, hackberries. Wild foods such as wild raspberries, blackberries, wild cherries, wild grapes, sumac, elderberries, black gum, holly and cedar contribute to their varied diet. Putting out (and regularly replacing) several suet blocks will also attract them like magnets.
During our last snow, I also saw species that rarely come around the house. Of note on the list were: Hermit Thrush (3), Brown Thrasher (2), Eastern Towee (3), American Woodcock (1), Eastern Bluebirds (12-14), American Robbins (many), Fox Sparrows (several), two unidentified warblers, one juvenile bald eagle and of course, a boss hog mockingbird.
Other bird notes: The female Rufous hummingbird that was hosted by an Amelia County family decided she had had enough of this nasty weather. She had filled out and was ready to depart. The host family misses her regular presence and was appreciative that Bruce Peterjohn was able to band her.
Come on Spring!!!! Joe LivelyJetersville, Va.You are subscribed to VA-Richmond-General. To unsubscribe, send email to va-richmond-general-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. To adjust other settings (vacation, digest, etc.) please visit, //www.freelists.org/list/va-richmond-general.
You are subscribed to VA-Richmond-General. To unsubscribe, send email to va-richmond-general-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. To adjust other settings (vacation, digest, etc.) please visit, //www.freelists.org/list/va-richmond-general.
