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I discovered a bird's nest in the tree outside the house. It's a new subdivision so the tree isn't very big yet, and I was able to stand on tip toes and hold my phone above my head, and get a couple shots of the babies. Aren't they cute?   Here's the mother. Anyone know what kind of bird this is? Sorry the images aren't great. Cell phone camera on zoom, so the definition sucks.  
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Jun 19, 2014 13:57
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| # ? May 5, 2024 06:48 |
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That's a Northern Mockingbird! (I'm pretty sure, anyway.) You're really lucky she isn't attacking the hell out of you for being so close. Cute little babies though!
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Jun 19, 2014 16:11
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Yep, Northern Mockingbirds. When they're begging, do the babies sound like nails being dragged across a chalkboard? I hope none of them end up entangled in the green mesh that's woven into the nest (lower left of second photo).  Anthropogenic materials in nests can cause huge problems like that. Keep an eye on the little guys?
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Jun 19, 2014 19:02
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I haven't heard the babies make any noise yet, but I don't stay close for long at all because the Mama gets freaked out. That green mesh is everywhere. This is a new subdivision with new houses going up all the time. The mesh is what holds the lawn strips together. I will definitely be keeping an eye on them. Last night we had a thunderstorm with high winds. The tree the nest is in is new, and small still. It bent almost sideways a couple of times, and I was watching closely in case the chicks fell out of the nest, so that I could run out there and put them back in again. The Mama bird was frantically flying around, trying to find a way to get to the nest as the branches and leaves were whipping around from the wind. She finally made it. See how little the tree is? 
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Jun 21, 2014 14:59
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Ugh, I hate lawn mesh. Would it kill them to make it from something biodegradable? It kills my fish friends, let me tell you. I have to yank that stuff out of my garden and pond almost weekly. The sod was put in 12 years ago. It drives me insane.
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Jun 21, 2014 17:40
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Ditto on the mockingbird ID and the hate for the green mesh. When the chicks are getting older and fledging watch them and make sure they don't get their legs tangled in it. What is it with mockingbirds and plastic string?! I found a fledgling mockingbird once that had purple plastic string wrapped around a broken left leg. I took him in, splinted the leg, handfed him and raised him until he was recovered, strong and old enough to release. Named him Scout, naturally. First day I found him:  About 1 month later, you'd never know by then he'd had an injury:  Scout used to fly around in the evenings catching tiny bugs off the ceiling--ones so small I couldn't even SEE them. He'd fly around, suddenly land on my shoulder or on my computer with a 'Freep!' and proudly show me the bug he'd caught, swallow it and then be off to find another. He'd repeat this all evening.  He wasn't too thrilled with the papercraft stuff I was making, though. Don't think he was a KISS fan.  Scout was pretty damned awesome.  If you want to help mama mockingbird out, a little way away from the nest set out some live mealworms (get them at the pet store, they keep them in the frig). Mockingbirds LOVE live food. Great pics, BTW!
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Jun 21, 2014 20:20
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Weird that I came across this thread just now. Two hours ago, a nestling American robin fell out of its nest which the stupid mom bird put in a horrible spot (a sloping crevice between my garage and house). We have found dead baby birds on the ground right under the nest before, broken eggs, etc. They just roll out. Tonight, however, I must have shaken the nest when I shut the front door, causing the poor pink little thing to tumble out. He was flopping around on the ground, squawking. We tried to put the baby back in, but the nest is pretty lovely and the bird kept rolling back out. So, for the first time in my life, I'm taking in a teeny baby bird until the local wildlife rehab center opens tomorrow at 8AM. When I first brought him in, he may have been stunned or in shock - he was very still and quiet. I don't know if he sustained any injuries falling out, but after putting him in a dry box with paper towels and a desk lamp, he perked right up. I'm feeding him tiny morsels of wet cat food (rehab center says this is OK for tonight) with tweezers every half hour. He's had a huge, disgusting bird poo poo and bitches at me to feed him. Since he's being an rear end in a top hat I figure he has a good chance of making it. I'll post some pics and maybe give him a name if he survives tonight and makes it to the rehab center. Meantime, I'm going to feed him before I go to bed, in the middle of the night, and when I wake up. I don't know if any other birds are in that nest, but when I'm sure it's empty, I'm going to try to put up some mesh or something to prevent idiot birds from nesting up there.
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Jun 22, 2014 05:58
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My parents put a stuffed beaver in a spot that mourning doves refused to stop building nests- right in front of the front door, on the underside of the porch roof. Worked like a charm, they won't go near it.
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Jun 22, 2014 13:36
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Ditto on the mockingbird ID and the hate for the green mesh. When the chicks are getting older and fledging watch them and make sure they don't get their legs tangled in it. What is it with mockingbirds and plastic string?! I found a fledgling mockingbird once that had purple plastic string wrapped around a broken left leg. I took him in, splinted the leg, handfed him and raised him until he was recovered, strong and old enough to release. Named him Scout, naturally. Scout is awesome! I'll definitely be on the lookout for the fledglings getting entangled in the mesh. Thanks for the tip. Velvet Sparrow posted:If you want to help mama mockingbird out, a little way away from the nest set out some live mealworms (get them at the pet store, they keep them in the frig). Mockingbirds LOVE live food. Great pics, BTW! Oh cool, good to know. We have mealworms here for the lizard, so I'll appropriate some of those for the mama bird. Do I just set them on the ground near the tree? noelcat posted:I'll post some pics and maybe give him a name if he survives tonight and makes it to the rehab center. Meantime, I'm going to feed him before I go to bed, in the middle of the night, and when I wake up. I don't know if any other birds are in that nest, but when I'm sure it's empty, I'm going to try to put up some mesh or something to prevent idiot birds from nesting up there. Hope he made it. Looking forward to the photos. Amberlyn fucked around with this message at 14:13 on Jun 22, 2014 |
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Jun 22, 2014 14:11
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CompactFanny posted:My parents put a stuffed beaver in a spot that mourning doves refused to stop building nests- right in front of the front door, on the underside of the porch roof. Worked like a charm, they won't go near it. I couldn't quite parse the stuffed beaver part of your post because I'm apparently 13 years old. That's a good idea, though. I've been up all night feeding this little shithead and he's quite alive and squawky. After I take a nap I'm going to grab a flashlight and see if the nest is truly empty or not, then brush all of the nesting material out and put something in there.
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Jun 22, 2014 14:22
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OK, so do mockingbirds become a bonded pair after they mate? I'm used to getting dive-bombed when I exit the car to come inside. I try and make it quick so I don't disturb mama or the babies. I thought there was only the mama bird making a fuss, but I had to be back and forth from my car this morning (where I park is right in front of the tree the nest is in) and today, when I was going back and forth unloading stuff, I realized that there was not one, but two birds raising hell. They'd alternate flapping their wings at me and getting in the nest. They looked the same and I wouldn't have known it was two except I was getting flapped at by one while I was watching the other one actually in the nest. At one point they were both flying around diving at me and squawking. Is this normal?
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Jun 22, 2014 19:37
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Amberlyn posted:OK, so do mockingbirds become a bonded pair after they mate? Yup. Mockingbirds are scrappy, and have no fear. They regularly chase crowns and ravens away in our neighborhood. And I mean like, chase them for blocks and blocks. They do mate for life, too. I love 'em.
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Jun 22, 2014 22:24
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Success! This little bird lived and is currently residing at our local bird center. They whisked him into their baby bird room and told me he'd be just fine  I found out he's not even considered a nestling - he's 1-3 days old and a hatchling. I decided to name him Chicken because he was eating chicken-flavored cat food all night and I think that might be some kind of cannibalism. Godspeed, baby bird.
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Jun 22, 2014 22:47
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God he's ugly. Looks like some kind of alien. It just blows my mind that something that looks so half-made and fetus-like is actually a living thing, thriving and growing exactly the way it's supposed to. I'm really glad Chicken made it this far. Good job for your excellent care! Are you able to visit, to check on him or whatever?
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Jun 22, 2014 23:19
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Amberlyn posted:God he's ugly. Looks like some kind of alien. It just blows my mind that something that looks so half-made and fetus-like is actually a living thing, thriving and growing exactly the way it's supposed to. He was pretty gross-looking. His skin was so transparent you could see his organs  The facility I took him to has a ton of birds, but I was thinking of calling in a few days to see how he's doing. I don't know if that makes me a crazy person or if they will even be able to identify him vs. other birds. For all I know, they placated me when I dropped him off ("Oh, he'll grow up with a family of birds! Heeheehee...") and threw him in the euthanasia room.
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Jun 23, 2014 04:16
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Well, they finally flew the coop! Looks like all of them made a successful transition. Here are the last batch of photos I took shortly before they flew away. And wow! It's amazing to me how quickly they grew!!    I also found this fascinating article about mockers, complete with several videos. That first one, of the guy getting dive-bombed, was my exact experience with them whenever I got close! https://www.kcet.org/news/the_back_forty/wildlife/listen-to-the-mockingbird.html
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Jun 27, 2014 13:19
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We used to have a neighborhood mockingbird that would imitate a car alarm: 'WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW.....beep-beep'. It was the pause & reset at the end that would just kill me every time.  And yeah, they are aggressive. Scout would sit on my shoulder and fearlessly attack my hand if I scratched my face or touched my hair. Nice of him to defend me!
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Jun 27, 2014 20:06
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My family used to rent a beachfront cottage for 1 week every summer. There was ALWAYS a mockingbird or two in the bushes next to the driveway. We had to be quick and careful or they would make all kinds of ruckus at us when we were coming and going. Every year they were there. It was actually pretty
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Jun 27, 2014 20:18
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| # ? May 5, 2024 06:48 |
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The funniest thing about mockingbird pissyness is how directed it can be. A pair set up right outside my parents' front door several years in row when I was a kid. They were cool with my mom or one of our dogs going by, but would not tolerate the same of the other dog, me, or my dad. I don't know why, but for some reason those birds decided that some of us were cool and the rest were Hitler.
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Jul 3, 2014 08:41
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