Monday, February 28, 2011

Mocking The Mockingbird

I enjoy watching the antics of Northern Mockingbirds. They plant themselves in a bush full of berries and guard them like a watchdog. They are also curious birds. While watching this mockingbird from inside my truck, I made different sounds to see how it would react. At first, It moved around in the bush unsure of what to do.
As I started talking to it, the bird hopped to the ground and came straight towards me. I wish I had some berries to offer it. It has quite the lengthy tail. I wonder why they hold it up so high?
I spent Saturday morning walking the trails along the Wadsworth Mansion and Wadsworth Park with another birder. It was a mild winter day with no wind and the trails were packed enough so that our feet only sunk into the snow occasionally. There was the usual birds you might expect to find in the Connecticut woods during the winter but their were also a few surprises. We had a nice view of a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. There was some crows chasing a Red-tailed hawk around the woods. A few Common Ravens passed overhead making there interesting vocalizations. We noted that the ravens and Red-tailed Hawk shared the same airspace without bothering each other.
On my way home I stopped by Harbor Park to see if there were any unusual gulls hanging around. They appeared to all be Ring-billed Gulls playing a game of "heads or tails? " It's good to know that Spring is just around the corner. I'm looking forward to getting outdoors for more extended periods of time now.

7 comments:

Jen Sanford said...

Funny about the mockingbird's reactions to you... That was one of my favorite birds I saw when visiting family in MA last December...

Dostoy said...

Too cool. I've never seen a photo of a mockingbird before and had no idea of what they look like. Thanks for sharing.

Hilke Breder said...

That is one fantastic tail! I enlarged the photos to full size; never realized that they are that long. Great shots!

Dawn Fine said...

hee hee..I love that heads or tails shot!

Hope it warms up real soon so you get more outdoor time!

Happy Birding!

Ruth said...

I have seen 2 Mockingbirds here in Ontario this winter. I saw my first one 2 years ago and not another until this year. The seagull picture is poster worthy. You need a caption...

Pen and Ink said...

I have enjoyed reading your blog and looking at the photographs. I especially like the photograph of the "heads or tails?" gulls.

Thank you for sharing!

Larry said...

Jen-Mockingbirds do have strange mannerisms at times.

Dostoy-glad you liked it.

Hilke-thanks-the tails are very long when you get a good look at them.

dawn-thanks-I flipped a coin before I took the picture.

Ruth-I didn't realize mockinbgbirds made it up that far.Glad you had a chance to see them.

Pen and Ink-thanks for stopping by.