I thought her stupid birds were gone…what?
Yes, our robins have been gone for a couple of weeks now, but other avian neighbors remain on the other side of the house – mockingbirds who have nested in a vine-like plant on my carport. (Hyacinth? Maybe. I don’t know.)
I knew they were there, but it’s only been in the past couple of days that I’ve taken time to actually watch the action. The babies are pretty big now – you can see them peaking out at times. They’re very loud when they’re being fed. I suspect they’re about ready to fly.
I ventured up on a ladder today to snap a portrait.
Angry Bird
The photography session wasn’t as leisurely as the others, as you might imagine. Mockingbirds are mean and aggressive suckers – the geese of the songbird world. A couple of weeks ago, I watched this mockingbird pair chase a squirrel who’d ventured too close to the nest across through trees across three yards.
Nothing happened to me today, but to be sure, the minute one of the parents was aware that I was near the nest, it perched on the powerline above my head, squawking. I didn’t give it time to do more. I can respect that protective parenting. I do.
Helicopter Parent
There is a type of bird here in the northeast that twice attacked the top of my head when I passed too close to their nest. Be advised. He or she didn’t hurt me but the schock of something that escapes control and is new could be even more exciting shall we say…on a ladder.
Even the doves that nest on St. Francis’s statue in Assisi get agitated by people investigating their nest too closely. Italian mamas! :-)
Lol…I checked google for mocking birds and clicked images. That’s the one. In fact google images shows one attacking a lady’s head 6 photos down. You’ve gotten off lightly so far. If your older son has an athletic helmet, tell him to send it on over to you. As you know, I’ll fight home invaders….but mocking birds…it’s hard to rear choke them or break their fingers with chin na, the joint breaking part of Kung Fu. Basically I just flee mocking birds like the Moabites fleeing the three kings in 2 Kings 3.
The best parents are birds.