Thursday, July 07, 2011

No longer a Mystery Bird

From this angle, I wasn't sure what this bird is. A thrush, maybe, I wondered.

young mocker in callery pear
But then, later in the day, he came down and sat in the Japanese maple. I still wasn't sure, but then in his virtually nonstop preening he flashed those wings and I almost guessed (his tail is so short though) before suddenly an adult showed up.

young mocker stretching wings
He's a very young mockingbird, and he's stretching, preening, getting his adult feathers in order, and waiting to be fed. An adult flies up and pops something into his mouth every so often.

Birds of North America (subscription) says that fledglings leave the nest able to run, and then climb into shrubs after a couple of days, only able to fly after 8. This guy must be able to fly a bit, given the height of that callery pear he was in, and that means it's dad feeding him, while mom tends the next nest and eggs.


young mocker
Stretching like a cat, almost

young mocker

young mocker

young mockerAnd dad shows up.

father and child

He was there all day. Here are a couple of shots from nearly sundown - the one of him getting something to eat is blurry but I'm posting it anyway. :-D

baby mocker

baby mocker and dad

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