Ice Flower

Inspired by today’s photo by Riwaka7, Mrs. Happy’s “Raindrop on Clematis.” Extra shows the original of this shot. We have no raindrops here where everything is frozen solid (16F, -9C) so I’m making do until Spring.

Despite a heated birdbath and a variety of foodstations, our usual array of avian visitors has dwindled to a single Northern Mockingbird who is now defending our yard as its own. No other bird can approach without being chased off, even the tenacious, much larger and typically combative blue jays. Normally, the cacophony of birdsong emanating from our backyard can be heard from several houses away. This development has been disappointing because we so look forward to welcoming, feeding, and enjoying the birds all year long, but even more so in the winter when their food and water is scarce and our color pallette is nearly mono.

The male Northern Mockingbird has been recorded singing up to 200 songs, including the mimicing of an axe chopping wood, car horn honking, tinkling piano keys, dog barking, etc. in addition to imitating other bird species that may live hundreds of miles away. The more songs a male can sing, the more attractive he is to the gals. And of course, it’s all about that. (Paraphrased from The Lives of Birds by Lester L. Short, plus my editorials).

We await a flock of American robins or a red-tailed hawk to force relocation of this mockingbird. We are most anxious to see the bluebirds return in January but they will not if this gangster decides this is his hood. This is one bird that will not learn that boundaries are best as fences, not walls.