There is a thrill to seeing a Mockingbird
Posted Feb 16, 2012 By Michael RuntzEMC Lifestyle - One of the greatest pleasures I get from writing this column is hearing about your exciting encounters with nature. I enjoy all sightings, which range from white Ermine chasing Flying Squirrels up trees to majestic Bald Eagles soaring overhead. I also enjoy hearing about birds visiting your backyard feeders. Sometimes those include an oddly coloured bird, and other times, a puzzling stranger.
Recently Diane Perky from the White Lake area called me about the latter. The bird was near the size of a Blue Jay, was gray above and white below, and sported a white patch on its partly black wing. Two birds- a Gray Jay and a Northern Shrike - crossed her mind but her visitor had a very different bill. It was longer and more slender.
When I heard Diane's detailed description, I knew the bird could only be a Northern Mockingbird, a bird familiar to most visitors to the southern states. Mockingbirds, however, are quite rare in our area, usually being only encountered in spring or summer. They have nested locally at least twice and in the Ottawa area several times. Although occasionally found in Ottawa in winter, this is, as far as I know, the first winter record for the White Lake-Pakenham-Arnprior area.
Mockingbirds get their name from their ability to incorporate the sounds of other birds into their songs. They sing phrases usually in repeats of three or more, making them easily vocally distinguishable from Brown Thrashers, their close relatives, which sing notes in pairs.
Mockingbirds have been observed in Ontario since 1902 but the first nest was not discovered until 1960. They had been principally found in the "Banana Belt" around the west end of Lake Ontario, but in recent years, they have begun a slow expansion northward. Perhaps global warming is behind this expansion, as is suspected to be behind the range expansion of other southerners such as Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Carolina Wrens, and Black Vultures. Mockingbirds are also no longer being captured for the pet trade, another reason for their increase.
In winter, Mockingbirds eat a variety of berries. Diane and Paul Petryk have observed their welcome guest dining on Yew and Juniper berries, as well as their suet. When I suggested she try feeding it raisins or fruit pieces, Diane provided some fresh raspberries, which were apparently received with great enthusiasm. However, her strawberries went ignored.
Mockingbirds are notoriously aggressive in defending their territories and nests. Apparently, this one has claimed the Petryk property as its own, for it aggressively keeps other birds at bay. In particular, it has taken a strong dislike to a Hairy Woodpecker, which it mercilessly drives away at every opportunity.
Perhaps the woodpecker, which owns a lethal bill, is conjuring up ways to kill a Mockingbird!
A reminder that the Innis Point Bird Observatory is having its annual fundraiser on Feb. 28, and I am the guest speaker. For a fine meal and entertaining evening full of bird talk, why not join me! Details can be found at http://www.ofnc.ca/events/IPBO-Fundraiser-Feb2012.pdf
The Nature Number is 613-387-2503, email is mruntz@start.ca
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